Dead Space: Forgotten Memories
by EcoSeeker247
Summary: *Sequel to Dead Space: Into the Abyss* Pulling a 180 in attitude was only the beginning. When Timmy Stamford finds himself being thrown into Dead Space 2 this time around, he thinks things can't get any worse than the USG Ishimura…until an all too familiar outbreak occurs all around him. Rated T for violence and language.
1. After One Year

All right! With the arrival of _Dead Space 2, _I've decided to start "Dead Space: Forgotten Memories", the sequel to "Dead Space: Into the Abyss"! I'm in the middle of trying to purchase the game now, but I've decided how I'm going to begin this story! I'm not going to jump right into the events of the game, but instead build it up over the first few chapters or so. If you haven't already, I suggest you go back and read "Dead Space: Into the Abyss" before reading this one, because there are numerous spoilers from that story. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this sequel, which will be uploaded as I play through the game, so I'll be plotting the story as I go through the game, even though I have an overall sense of how I want to handle certain characters. Enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **There will be _Dead Space _and _Dead Space 2 _spoilers throughout this story.

_Italics- _Dream sequence

* * *

_He was running. For how long, he didn't know. All he knew was that he had to move quickly for some reason. _

"_Ring around the Rosie…"_

_ Lights flickered around him, and hands that smelled like the dead tried to grab him, but he fended them all off. He had to get out of here. _

"_A pocket full of posies…"_

_ Tripping over his feet, the young man fell as horrible screeching noises seemed to follow him wherever he went. When he fell, however, he was stuck. He couldn't get up anymore. He couldn't run at this point. Up ahead he could see someone moving towards him, though who, he didn't see. _

_ As he tried to get up, the person moved closer to him, and he recognized who it was. "Isaac!" he gasped as the traumatized and slightly delusional systems engineer advanced towards him, wearing his mining uniform and covered in blood from head to toe. His eyes were blank, as they had been for a while now. _

_ "You said you would come back for me," Isaac reminded the boy in a harsh whisper as Unitology symbols flashed all around him. He grinned slightly, sending fear into the young man's heart. _

"_Ashes…ashes…"_

_ "Isaac, wait!" the teenager cried, extending his hand, but like everything else around him, Isaac disappeared and yet another familiar face approached him. This time, it was a man around Isaac's age, with black hair, a black beard, blue eyes, and an evil smile on his face. _

_ "No," the teen gasped, "You're dead! I killed you on the Crew Deck!" _

_ "I will never be dead to you, Phase Two," Challus Mercer replied, smirking as he advanced towards the fallen boy, holding what looked like a metal stake in his hands. _

_ "You cannot fight your fate," Mercer said, raising the metal stake, "No one can." _

_ "NO!" the boy cried as Mercer stabbed him in the head with the stake. From behind the psychopath, an Infector appeared and began to transform his body, his unseeing eyes facing the sky above him as something began to ring. _

"_We all…fall…down…" _

* * *

_**One year later…**_

_RING! RING! RIIIIIIING! _

"Ahh!" I cried, my eyes snapping open as I glanced around and heard my alarm go off at 6:30 in the morning. Reaching over, I bashed it until it shut up, and I took a few deep breaths as I ran my fingers through my hair. My upper arm throbbed uncontrollably, and taking a flashlight from underneath my bed, I checked it out…only to realize that the gashes Mercer had inflicted were still there after all this time.

"Timmy?" Allen, my fourteen-year-old brother, asked sleepily from his bed in our shared bedroom, "Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah," I stammered, "Go back to sleep, Al."

"I can't," my brother responded, "Because it's time to get up for school, remember?"

I glanced at the calendar next to my bed and sighed. "Oh," I said, "Right. Go ahead and get ready. I'll go next." Allen nodded, grabbed his things, and left the room. I remained in bed, examining my scars, as well as the marks on my stomach where Mercer had attacked me when he was a Slasher. _It was just a dream, Timmy, _I said to myself, _Only a dream. _

Flipping onto my side, I buried my face into my pillow again, trying to block out what I had just dreamt about. Something I intended to forget about for the rest of my life. Ever since I…I _returned _from being trapped in my copy of _Dead Space _last year (which I had sold back at this point), I had been having that same dream. But then I told myself it was just a dream. I no longer had the game.

I remembered the day I sold the game back like it was yesterday, though that was probably due to the fact that it was a day after I had bought it.

"_Well, I see you've returned," Mercedes commented as soon as I stepped into Game Stop. _

"_I'm just here to sell Dead Space back. I'm not here to joke around," I told her, which shocked her. _

"_Oh!" she gasped, "You're selling the game back? Why?" _

_ "I don't want it anymore," I replied simply, taking the game out of my book bag and placing it on the counter, facing the cover away from me. _

_ Mercedes was thoroughly floored. "But…but…you were so excited about playing it yesterday!" she stammered, "I don't understand. You didn't like it?" _

_ I shook my head. "No, I didn't," I responded, "I decided it wasn't my type of game. Too much blood, guts…death." I shivered. Mercedes only shrugged, though she looked seriously worried about me. She scanned the bar code on the back as I gave her the receipt. _

"_Listen," I added a second later, "I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday. It was uncalled for and I shouldn't have been so crass with you." _

_Mercedes widened her eyes again. "You're apologizing?" she questioned, "I didn't think you were the apologizing type, but I forgive you. I'm also sorry for the way I treated you. I should have been more professional in the way I handled your behavior." I just sighed and looked away. _

"_I forgive you," I assured her, "I'll just be glad to have that game out of my sight." _

_ Mercedes raised her eyebrows. "I don't know you that well, but judging from the boy I saw yesterday, you're not acting like yourself. Is everything okay?" _

_No. Nothing was okay. Nothing would ever be okay again. _

"_Yeah, sure," I lied, "But let me tell you something: if you decide to play this game again, always remember the importance of family and friends." _

_And with that, I looked away from Mercedes as I accepted my money back and walked out of the store._

Turning the light on next to me, I took a look around my room for a minute or two, grateful to be alive and with my family. I couldn't believe how much of an asshole I had been last year. But things were different now. I helped out more around the house, for one thing, and I spent more time with my brothers.

"Bathroom's free," Al announced as he entered the room again, wrapping a towel around his waist, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I assured him, smiling. And I was.

Once I was in the bathroom, I shut the door and took off my night shirt, examining the scars on my arm, my hands, and my stomach again. I sighed as I ran my fingers across the incisions on my arm. Over the last year, different people had asked me where I got them from.

"I cut my arm when I fell down my wooden stairs," I would explain to them to throw them off. They didn't need to know what _really _happened. I was trying to put it behind me, anyway, which worked for the most part. Not that I was happy about it; it was frustrating not being able to talk to anyone about what had happened to me. Hell, I couldn't even talk to my own family out of fear that they would have me checked into a mental institution.

Hours later, after eating breakfast and feeding my now one-year-old brother, David, Allen and I drove to school in my car that I had finally gotten a few months after the incident. Looked like I could finally drive on my own, huh? I thought about what Mom had said to us before we left.

"I can't believe you boys are growing up so fast," she had said, getting a little teary-eyed, "Now that Timmy's a senior, we're going to have to make a few changes around the house."

"Like what?" Allen asked.

"You taking my place as being the oldest brother," I teased, "Now you get to babysit Dave like I always do." I smirked as Allen stuck his tongue out.

"Well, there is that," Mom agreed, "I can't believe how much you've grown up since last year, Timmy. I don't know how it happened, but I'm glad you did."

"It's a long story, Mom," I replied, exhaling, "But Al, when you're taking care of Dave when Mom isn't around, remember what I told you. Okay?" I gave him a firm stare as he tilted his head to the other side and considered my statement.

"Okay," he decided, "But I still don't understand why."

"I just don't want you to do _that._" _That _meaning don't sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" at night. I wouldn't even go into that.

Before we left for school, Mom had pulled me to the side just as Dad entered the room with his morning coffee and newspaper.

"You know, Timmy," Mom said, "I appreciate that you've matured over the last year, but I can't help but wonder if everything's okay. You've been a little…off this whole time."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I don't know," Dad piped up, "Jumping at slight noises, avoiding your favorite sci-fi movies, and all of a sudden hating _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star._ Now, I know nursery rhymes are childish for you, but you never objected to any of them until now." I looked down at the ground as they continued.

"And those mysterious cuts all over your body," Mom prattled, lifting my sleeve and exposing Mercer's incisions.

"Ow!" I gasped, "Mom!"

"Timmy, if someone's hurting you, you have to tell us!"

"Mom, Dad, nobody's hurting me," I insisted, pulling my sleeve down, "I told you I fell down the stairs."

Mom shook her head. "Your father and I were discussing this," she explained, "And the way these cuts are arranged…it looks like someone ran a knife across your arm or something." I looked away again, feeling tears prick my eyes.

"And those marks on your stomach," Dad continued, lifting up my shirt, "That doesn't look like an accident, either. It looked like someone cut you there on purpose, too. Just like your arm." I didn't answer.

"Your mother and I have been trying not to make a big deal out of this, but we can't ignore it anymore. What's going on with you, Timmy? Who did this to you?"

_Challus Mercer, _I thought to myself, _A crazy Unitologist scientist on the USG Ishimura from that Dead Space game. But you'd never believe me if I told you any of that. _

_ "_Nobody," I insisted for the last time as I grabbed my bag, "This is nothing for any of you to worry about."

Dad rose to his full height as he stared down at me, and I suddenly realized where I got part of my personality from. "My oldest son returns home with mysterious cuts on his body that he can't even explain," he lectured, "I think that's a damn good reason for us to worry!"

I didn't want to talk about this now. Al and I were going to be late. "Look, we'll talk when I'm home later," I assured them, "We have to get to school."

* * *

And now, sitting in the car, I reflected on my school life ever since the incident. Things had gotten better as far as the social aspect was concerned, which I was happy about. I parked in the senior parking lot, where Al and I met up with the other students as we waited for the doors to open. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my old group of friends, John, Paul, Mark, and Andrew, shooting daggers at me after the last year. I couldn't believe I had ever been friends with them. They were all arrogant pricks who didn't have a care in the world. And they were never really my friends. They had decided to ditch me once I started changing my ways.

"Hey look, it's Timmy!" someone whispered from the side, and I smiled and waved back.

"Hi, Timmy!" a girl greeted.

"Hey, Mandy!" I replied, nodding to her. Almost nobody at school could believe that I had turned into a nice guy over the last year. It hadn't been easy, but somehow, I managed to convince the others that I had changed.

"Where are you going?" another boy, Roger, asked me, approaching me.

"Psychology," I replied, "Want to go together?"

"Sure." Roger, Mandy, and I began to head inside the building as a few voices echoed behind us.

"Well, well," Paul began as he and my other former friends cornered us, "Since when did Timothy Stamford turn into such a saint?"

I narrowed my eyes at them. I wasn't exactly a "saint", per se. Just better than I used to be, that was all. "What?" I replied, smirking, "Can't handle someone being nice for once?"

"You don't know how different it's been," Mark piped up, "Ever since you _ditched _us."

"I didn't ditch you," I argued, "We grew apart and I found new friends."

"It was that game," Andrew accused, pointing a finger at me, "If you hadn't played that _Dead Space _game, you wouldn't have changed."

I felt my hands ball into fists, but I didn't want to start fighting in front of Roger and Mandy. "Let's go, guys," I said to them, "They're not worth it." We turned to pass them when I felt Andrew grab my scarred arm.

"Mark my words, Stamford," he warned, "You're going to pay for ditching us." I narrowed my eyes again.

"Let go of me," I hissed, prying his hand off my arm and leaving with my friends. As soon as we were inside, Mandy turned to face me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "What were they talking about before?"

"Don't worry about it," I assured her as we entered the Psychology classroom. As we sat down and took our books out, Roger glanced at me.

"So Timmy," he asked, "I managed to get my pre-ordered copy of _Dead Space 2. _Want to come over later and play it?"

Tearing my gaze away from my textbook, I turned to stare at him. "_Dead Space 2_?" I asked, playing dumb.

"You know," Roger answered, "Isaac Clarke? The _Sprawl? _Loses his mind at the end of the first game-"

"Thank you, Roger," I thanked him sarcastically, "But I'm not into those games."

"I think you'd like it. You seem familiar with the first one." I waved him off just as our teacher, Mr. Garcia, began the lecture.

"All right, class," he began, putting his reading glasses on, "Today, we're going to begin talking about psychological disorders and the effects they bring with them. Who here can tell me about…Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?"

At first, nobody answered, but then, I raised my hand. "Timmy?" Mr. Garcia asked.

"It occurs after most traumatic events," I explained, "Such as a car accident or an attack of some sort. He or she suffers from flashbacks of the events, nightmares, and has trouble trying to put the event aside." _Sounds awfully familiar, _I thought to myself.

"Very good," Mr. Garcia said, "The degree of PTSD varies depending on the incident. While most victims recover after a while, some never do, and it's important to be there for the patients, whether they are friends or loved ones, when they need us."

_Snap! _The pencil I was writing with broke, and everyone turned to face me. "Sorry," I mumbled, my face turning red, "I'll just get a pen." However, Mr. Garcia just continued on with the lecture as if there were no interruptions.

"For the next twenty minutes, I want all of you to think about the next lecture. I'm going to show you a few slides, and I want you to write down your reactions to all of them as I speak." He turned on the computer and began to take us through his next lecture, and at that, I felt myself zone out completely. Resting my head in my hand, I just stared vacantly at the screen as Mr. Garcia continued lecturing. I was normally an attentive student, but not so much lately. In fact, not so much over the last year. My grades hadn't slipped or anything like that, but it was harder to concentrate on my school work when I had a lot of other baggage to deal with.

"Timmy," Mandy hissed from my left as she passed me a note. Taking it in my hand, I opened it under the desk and read the message:

_Are you sure you don't want to come over to Roger's later? He's really excited about Dead Space 2! _

I figured it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with them, though I would suggest we do something else. It had been hard convincing everyone that I had changed and I wasn't about to pass up this chance to actually keep friends.

_Sure, I'm in,_ I wrote back, _But no Dead Space 2. Why don't we try Resident Evil?_

_We've played that game so many times already,_ Mandy wrote back, _We've never tried Dead Space 2 and we thought you could help us with the story. _

_I can't help you there, _I replied, even though it was a lie, _I don't know a lot about the first game either._ Sighing, I raised my head up to the teacher again as he lectured, and I took notes carefully so that he wouldn't catch us passing notes back and forth. I then flipped through a few pages of my textbook, and on one of the pages, I suddenly thought I saw a familiar, bloody face. Gasping out loud, I slammed the book shut, forcing everyone to stare at me.

"Timmy?" Mr. Garcia asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him, "I just got a chill, that's all."

"Do you need to step out for a minute?"

"I guess I will," I replied, "I'm sorry." I got up from my seat and then exited into the hallway, where I rested my head on the wall and sighed. I felt horrible, but what I thought I saw scared me to no end, like it had for the last year.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated, and when I looked down, I saw it was a text message from Mom: _Timmy, it's Mom. Don't forget that you have a doctor's appointment after school today. Don't worry, there won't be any needles this time!_

Yeah. Ever since…_that, _I had been afraid of the doctor, even though I knew it was an irrational fear. I couldn't help it, though: every time I went to the doctor's office, I was always worried there would be something that involved pain. I had a certain doctor to thank for that. One who had justified murder and torture by claiming he wanted to "save" me. I knew it was childish to bail, but I wouldn't go. I would go watch _Dead Space 2 _over the doctor any day.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the classroom again, feeling better already.

* * *

Later on in the day, after I dropped Allen off at home, I drove over to Roger's house, deciding that I would skip my appointment. He and Mandy were already there and hovered over _Dead Space 2._ I felt my stomach turn again, but I swallowed in an attempt to calm down.

"Check this out, Timmy!" Mandy quipped, practically dragging me over to the Playstation 3, "_Dead Space 2_!"

"It…looks amazing," I said to make them happy, though I wanted to run as far away as possible.

Just as Roger was about to start the game, we suddenly heard his mom knock on the door. "Roger!" she cried, "It's your turn to feed the dog!"

"Oh, damn," Roger cursed, "I forgot. Hold on, guys. I'll be right back." Putting his controller down, he got up and left.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Mandy announced, "I'll be right back, too." And with that, she left as well. I was the only one left in the room as a game I didn't want to play flashed in front of me. I felt horrible for bailing on my doctor's appointment, but my fear was just too much.

Just as I was going to call my mom to apologize for this (since I assumed she had found out by now), I suddenly felt something vibrate in front of me, and when I looked up, I noticed the controller was shaking back and forth as something orange appeared on the screen. On the other side was Isaac, and he seemed to fix his gaze on me. "No!" I shouted, "No! Go away!" But Isaac continued to advance towards me, extending a hand out as I tried to block him out of my mind.

At that moment, my phone rang, and I picked it up. "Timothy Stamford!" Mom snapped from the other end, "How could you skip your doctor's appointment? You know this was an important one!"

I couldn't answer. "Timothy?" she growled, "You answer me right now!" But I still couldn't, for my gaze was fixed on Isaac Clarke.

"Timmy," he whispered harshly as I felt everything fade to black around me once again.

* * *

When I was finally able to wake up, I shifted around a little bit before I opened my eyes. _Great, _I thought angrily, _Where did I land this time?_

Sitting up, I suddenly took notice of the bed sheets covering my body. _A bed! _I thought, _Am I in some sort of apartment?_ _Not a creepy spaceship like the _Ishimura?

Throwing the covers off, I then noticed a bright, orange light pouring into the room, and when I ambled over to the window, I realized where I was. The tall buildings and the planet Saturn in the distance were a dead giveaway. _Oh, no, _I thought with dread, _Not the _Sprawl _again! _Flashbacks of my last stay here came back to me, and I closed my eyes in an attempt to get rid of them.

I looked down at the rest of the civilian space station as I remembered what had happened the last time I was here. _Isaac! _I thought, turning and sprinting out of the apartment until I found myself standing in the middle of the station once again! For a minute, I looked around in awe, and it just occurred to me how many people were on here. Last time I was here, it was over one million! How much time had passed since that incident?

My first instinct told me to go find Isaac Clarke, the systems engineer that I had left here the last time, and my other instinct suggested that I get as far away from him as possible. How could I face him now? After I had accidentally broken my promise to go back for him?

"Young man," a stern voice suddenly rang out, breaking me out of my thoughts. I whirled around to face a police officer who was glaring at me.

"Yes, sir?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Do you need help getting somewhere? You can't stand in the middle of the road forever."

I shook my head. "Sorry," I apologized, "I'll just be going." And before he could say anything else, I was already running down the street towards the mental hospital. As soon as I spotted the large white doors, I gulped. Isaac was in there. Would he recognize me? I hoped he would and wouldn't at the same time. Swallowing my nerves, I opened the door and stepped inside.

My God, this place was amazing! Everything was just so meticulous, and even the patients seemed like they were being kept in order. A plus right there. "May I help you?" a female voice asked, and when I turned around, I noticed a nurse standing behind me.

"Hello," I greeted politely, nodding a little bit, "I was wondering if I could get a tour of the hospital. I'm thinking about going into the psychology field and thought this would be a good place to start." That wasn't true, but nobody needed to know that.

"Well, young man, you came to the right place," the nurse replied, "What's your name?"

"Brad Waters," I lied, "Thank you very much, Nurse…Jenkins!" I glanced at the nametag on her scrubs, and she nodded and began to lead me around the building as she explained its history and policies as far as patients went. I didn't care about all that. I just wanted to find Isaac!

As we climbed up a set of stairs, I asked, "Have you ever had to deal with really difficult patients?"

"We've gotten a few every now and then," Nurse Jenkins explained to me, "Three years ago, one of our patients claimed he wasn't safe here and that he needed to find _her_, whoever "her" was."

My heart zoomed up to my throat. Could that have been Isaac? Three years had passed since then? "Thank you very much for the tour," I said as soon as we passed the intensive care wing, where some of the more difficult patients were situated, "But I think I can find the restroom on my own. Thanks again!"

"Are you sure?" Nurse Jenkins asked nervously, "You seem awfully young to be wandering around by yourself."

"I'll be fine," I assured her, "I'm just going to take care of some private business." _Please don't let me have to get more vulgar than that, _I thought, but to my relief, I didn't have to.

The nurse nodded and walked away, and as soon as she was gone, I turned and entered the intensive ward. I was afraid of what I would find here, but I had to look. Since I had been power walking, I slowed down significantly as voices reached my ears. Tiptoeing through the hallway, I stopped in front of a specific door as I spotted a few doctors standing in front of someone.

"Is he settled down?" a female doctor asked.

"Yes," another doctor answered, "We can begin." Some of them moved aside, and I gasped when I saw who the patient was.

"Isaac Clarke," a male doctor began, "I'm going to show you some images and I want you to tell me about them. Think you can do that?"

There was no response from Isaac, but I instantly noticed how different he looked. He was much thinner than I remembered, and his hair was still black, but going on gray. There were dark bags under his eyes as well. "Isaac," I whispered under my breath, wanting to go inside, but holding myself back, as I was unsure what was going on in that room.

"First image," the man announced, holding up a picture of the _USG Ishimura,_ "What can you tell me about this?"

I glanced nervously from him to Isaac, and I wondered what the engineer would say. He just stared down at his lap and twiddled his fingers.

"Do you remember what you were doing on this ship?" the man asked, "Who you were with? Why you were there?"

"No," Isaac finally spoke up in a scratchy voice. He didn't look up at anybody. He didn't even _move_.

"No?" the man, whose name I caught was Edgar Foster, echoed, "What about this?" He held up a picture of a blonde woman. _Nicole, _I thought to myself.

"Nicole Brennan?" Foster asked, "Did you know her? Was she serving on the _Ishimura _at the time as a senior medical officer?"

"No," Isaac repeated in a slightly frustrated tone, "I don't remember her." I suddenly felt my heart contract in pity for my friend, and my heart beat faster as the interrogation continued. From the way Foster was asking these questions, it seemed like they were testing Isaac. But why?

"How about this young man?" Foster pressed, holding up a photograph of me this time. I gasped to myself. Where had they gotten that from?

"His name is Timothy Stamford, though he preferred Timmy. He was a survivor aboard the _Ishimura, _a participant in Dr. Challus Mercer's experiments aboard the ship_. _Do you remember him?"

I nearly cursed in anger. A _participant? _No way in hell was I _ever _a participant in those horrible experiments!

"I told you!" Isaac growled, clenching his fists, "None of it is coming back to me!"

"Well, Isaac, you're going to have to try, or else we can't help you."

"None of you will be able to help me." I watched as some of the doctors backed up in anxiety, and I wondered what would happen next.

Foster put away the picture of me and then took out one of a Necromorph, the bane of this game's existence. As soon as he held the picture up in front of Isaac, the engineer suddenly began to thrash around in his seat. "No!" he cried, "Get it away from me! Get it off!"

"The sedative!" the female doctor shouted, "Where's the sedative! For God's sake, calm him down!"

A bunch of other doctors converged on Isaac and held him down as the woman held a needle in her hand. However, Isaac suddenly lashed out and attacked one of the closest nurses. I was sure my mouth was hanging open in shock, and all of a sudden, my cheek began to feel tender again as I remembered the time Isaac had slapped me on the Mining Deck. I shuddered. That had been the first sign that he was slipping into dementia and possibly paranoid schizophrenia.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Isaac roared, slapping the pictures out of Foster's hand and then attempting to make a run for it, but the other, stronger doctors held him back as the main doctor injected him with a sedative.

"Nurse, fetch a straitjacket!" one of the other doctors ordered, and as they attempted to wrap the engineer in a straitjacket, I turned and ran. I couldn't bear to watch anymore.

What had happened to Isaac in this awful place?


	2. Lost Connections

I'd like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! I really appreciate the support and it's what encourages me to keep writing! On another note, I managed to buy and start playing _Dead Space 2 _today, and it's pretty awesome right now! The actual events of the game should start after this chapter. And with that in mind, enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

_Italics- _Audio/Visual Transmissions

* * *

Later on that day, I tossed and turned in my bed as I stared out the large window of the apartment I had woken up in. I couldn't sleep: Isaac had been on my mind ever since I fled from the hospital. He was not the same friend from the _Ishimura. _Instead, he was a shadow of his former self, having clearly been affected by his dementia from Aegis 7.

I remembered every step of the way that this had happened. It had started out as something minor: a few audio messages that Isaac had received from Nicole, and nothing else. I had even shrugged it off, since it was possible to only transmit to a certain person with a little bit of tweaking. The moment I started to realize something was wrong had been when Isaac had claimed Nicole was sending messages to him through broken monitors. This had continued for quite some time, and the incident on the Mining Deck had pretty much sealed it for me. From then on, I had tried to get him to snap out of his hallucinations, but to no avail. He had been so far gone by the time we escaped from Aegis 7 that it really seemed like I couldn't help him, which bothered me.

I felt horrible for not staying after we arrived here all that time ago. In my attempt to help him, I had left him here. Good thing he didn't remember that. Or did he? I didn't want to think about it. All I knew was that I had to get back in there and find out what had happened to him for the last three years.

* * *

When I woke up late the next morning, I decided I would spend the whole day at the hospital to try and solve this mystery. As I got dressed, a bunch of questions filled my mind, including trying to figure out who had tried to contact me before I left the game. All I remembered was seeing a woman with short, black hair and brown eyes. She had called out to me when I was running away from the Earth Government. Hopefully, she was around here, too.

As soon as I entered the hospital again, I went to go find someone who would help me, and to my luck, I spotted Nurse Jenkins again. "Good morning, Nurse Jenkins," I greeted, sauntering over to her, "How are you?"

"Ahh, Mr. Waters!" she replied, "You're back after mysteriously disappearing yesterday. Back for another tour?"

"No," I replied, "I wanted to ask about visiting patients."

"Who did you have in mind?"

I considered how I was going to phrase my words for a minute. "That patient you were telling me about yesterday," I answered, "Is there any chance I can see him? Maybe get a sense of what happened to him?"

Nurse Jenkins blanched for a minute. "I'm not authorized to do that," she explained, "But someone else might be. Just hold on a minute." She disappeared, and I wondered who she was going to fetch.

Five minutes later, Nurse Jenkins returned with another doctor in tow. "I'll leave you two to it, then," she said before disappearing.

"My name is Dr. Henry Frasier," Dr. Frasier introduced himself, shaking my hand, "Right this way." Gesturing, he led me down the hallway and back to the intensive ward, where a few screams echoed off the walls. I closed my eyes for a minute.

"You are about to visit one of our most difficult patients," Frasier explained to me, "He's been in and out of stasis for the past three years because we couldn't control him."

"What happened to him?" I asked so as not to draw any suspicion to myself.

"I'm afraid that's classified information," Frasier replied, and I nodded. _I already know what happened to him, _I thought, _But Frasier doesn't need to know that._

"And…here we go," Dr. Frasier announced, "Here is Isaac Clarke's room." I gulped.

"Isaac?" the doctor asked cautiously, "You have a visitor today." We stepped into the room, where my mouth dropped open at the sight of the walls. Unitology symbols were scribbled all over them, and Isaac himself sat by the window with his back to us. He was wrapped in a straitjacket, and I wondered if it was the same one from the previous day.

"Be careful," Dr. Frasier warned me, "He's very aggressive."

I nodded. "Thank you," I thanked him, and he walked away, leaving the two of us in the room alone.

"Isaac?" I asked, wondering if he would recognize my voice, as he still didn't turn around. He didn't respond, but he sure looked different. His eyes looked angry, and his face was much harder than it had been when I had first met him. He was a changed man, affected by dementia and PTSD. I could sense the aggression underneath his skin, and I remained cautious.

"So they've been keeping you here for the last three years, huh?" I continued softly. Still no response.

"So…" I began again, "Do you remember anything before Aegis 7?" I still saw the blank stare on his face, so I decided to move next to him and stare out into space (literally) as well.

"It's a beautiful view, isn't it, Isaac?" I asked, "You know, with all the stars and galaxies out there? At least there's something comforting." Even though Isaac was in his fragile state of mind, he was still Isaac Clarke. My friend. _That you left behind, _a voice reminded me harshly.

Finally, Isaac spoke. "_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_" he sang, "_How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. _

_ "When the blazing sun is gone, when there nothing shines upon. Then you show your little light. Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. _

_ "Then the traveler in the dark, thanks you for your little spark. He could not see which way to go. If you did not twinkle so. _

_ "When the blazing sun is gone, when there nothing shines upon. Though I know not what you are, twinkle, twinkle, little star._"

I gulped again. He appeared to remember _that _after all this time.

"How do you know who I am?" he asked in his gruff voice, which was also different from the _Ishimura. _

"We've met before," I explained, "On the _USG Ishimura. _Remember? I was so arrogant when we first met, but you helped me change and I'm better now. You even saved me from a Slasher on our first encounter." I glanced at him hopefully, but he still didn't say anything. It was clear he didn't remember. How could he have just forgotten everything like that?

"They showed me a picture of you yesterday," Isaac replied, still not looking at me, "Is that why you're here? To try and get me to remember you? It won't work, so you're just wasting your time."

I frowned and narrowed my eyes a little bit. "You may have given up on yourself, Isaac, but I haven't lost faith in you," I said to him, even though it was sad to see that he didn't remember me at all.

"What have you been doing here for the last three years?" I asked instead.

Isaac shook his head. "I don't even know anymore," he whispered, I've been here for as long as I can remember. In and out of stasis, and all my memories after Aegis 7 are gone. I've tried telling them about the sickness, but they won't listen. I even drew it on the walls. Here, look." He held a flashlight up to the wall, showing me a few of the Unitology symbols.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"_The sickness is the cure_," Isaac quoted, "_The cure is the sickness._" I nodded, though I had no idea what it meant.

"Why don't you show me?" I asked, "So that I can understand?" This time, I would be better prepared for a situation like this.

"No," Isaac declined, "They wouldn't listen, and I know you won't, either." I didn't say anything else.

"Just leave," the engineer commanded, "There's nothing you can do here." Frowning, I got up from the bed to leave, but not before I delivered one last message to Isaac.

"I'll go," I said to him, "But rest assured that you're not alone in this anymore."

* * *

When I returned to Dr. Frasier's office, I noticed how he seemed to be hovered over some files about a patient named Nolan Stross. As soon as I knocked on the door, he hurriedly put the folder away and looked up at me. "Mr. Waters!" he exclaimed, "I see you're back. Was your visit satisfactory?"

"He wasn't aggressive," I reported, "Just lost. I want to know what happened to him in the three years he was here. I didn't mention this to you or Nurse Jenkins before, but I'm actually a researcher and I wanted to conduct a study on Isaac Clarke."

Frasier narrowed his eyes. "Who are you working with?" he asked.

"I'm my own agency," I explained, "I'm planning on opening a lab soon." Frasier nodded, but I could tell he still didn't really believe me. Instead, he decided to go along with it.

"All right, then," he decided, "I suppose I'll authorize this, but if you aren't who you say you are, you're going to be arrested."

It was a tough promise to make, but I would have to risk it. "Very well," I said, "Where do I start?"

"You can start by taking a lunch break in the main cafeteria." Nodding, I got up and made my way downstairs to the cafeteria, where most of the patients seemed to be eating now. All of them were on strict surveillance, and I even spotted Isaac as he was led into the cafeteria by a female doctor. With that, I hung back and waited for him to pass before getting on the line.

"Watch out!" a voice cried from behind me, and before I could look up, I already found myself colliding into someone and falling into the ground. A fair amount of people swiveled their heads to face me, but I ignored them.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, "I didn't mean to…" I trailed off there as soon as I saw who I had bumped into.

"Knock into you," I finished as I studied the girl on the floor next to me. She looked like she was around my age, and she was wearing a white uniform like some of the other nurses. I had to admit she was good-looking, even as I helped her stand up again. I took in her shoulder-length, dark brown hair, green eyes, and fair skin.

Brushing herself off, she chuckled slightly as she tried to alleviate the awkwardness of the embarrassing situation. "It's okay," she replied, "Good thing we weren't carrying food, or else that would have been bad." I had to laugh as I wiped my forehead.

"Yeah, it would have," I agreed, "So I guess you're getting lunch like I am?"

"Uh huh," the girl answered, "After working in here for hours, all the breaks I can get are good." I nodded and thought about how she was easy to talk to.

As we continued to slowly move up in the food line, she suddenly spoke up again. "I'm Alexandra Adams," she introduced herself, shaking my hand, "I'm an intern here at the hospital, but everyone calls me Alex."

"Nice to meet you, Alex," I said in response, "My name is Tim- I mean, Brad Waters." _Almost slipped up there, _I thought to myself.

Alex laughed. "Did you forget your name there for a second?" she teased, "TimBrad?"

"No!" I insisted, "I didn't. Well, maybe for a split second." I felt my cheeks burn as I said this.

"Don't worry," she quipped, "I can keep a secret, Timmy."

I widened my eyes in shock. "You know my real name?" I asked in surprise.

Alex nodded. "I've been helping Dr. Samara Yasmin with Isaac Clarke's case as a part of my internship here," she explained, "I only started working here a few months ago, but your name and photograph was in his file."

I sighed. "Makes perfect sense," I mumbled to myself.

"Looks like it's your turn to get food," Alex pointed out as she gestured to the line, where one of the women behind the counter was waiting patiently with a ladle.

"Want to eat together?" I asked her once we were both finished getting our food from up ahead.

"Sure," she replied as we carried our trays to one of the secluded tables in the corner. Through my peripheral vision, I could see Isaac sitting in his own corner with one of the other nurses, though his gaze was fixed on us. I looked away from him and faced Alex, who just smiled at me.

"So what brings you to the _Sprawl?_" Alex asked as we began to eat.

"I'm not sure, to tell you the truth," I explained, "I kind of just ended up here, but I think I'm supposed to do something significant."

"You know Isaac Clarke already, it seems," Alex said, "Does it have something to do with him?"

"I guess so," I answered, "I…failed to be there for him when he needed a friend the most, and I want to make it up to him." Alex nodded.

"What about you?" I asked her.

"I was born and raised on the _Sprawl,_" she replied, "My parents were born here as well, so I've grown up always looking at the Titan. It's a beautiful view out there." We both glanced up at the large windows, and then I flicked my gaze to Isaac, who was continuing to stare at me with narrowed eyes. I suddenly didn't feel so hungry anymore.

* * *

Later on that day, Alex and I headed over to the Diagnostics room, where Alex reached for some video logs dating back to three years ago. They appeared to be also dated to a few months after he had arrived. "Since you know Isaac, I thought you might want to see this," she told me as she pressed "Play" on one of them, "I had to look at these when I first started working here so that I could get a clear understanding of what I was assisting with."

We sat down in front of the large screen as a live feed of Isaac's room appeared. "Are you allowed to just put cameras in their room like that?" I asked, but Alex shushed me.

In the video, Isaac was pacing back and forth in his room after carving new Unitology symbols into the wall. As he held the small scalpel in his hand, he shook his head as he began talking to himself, just like Dr. Terrence Kyne had.

"_Yes,_" he was saying, "_This should work! This should help me get back to her! I know all my other attempts have backfired, but this one shouldn't! I'll help her and make us whole again. Yes._" There was a pause before he continued.

"_Timmy?_" he asked the thin air, "_Yes, he should be back at any time now. He told me he would come back. He said he would help me find her again._" Another pause, and Alex glanced from me to the video log.

"_What?_" Isaac thundered, "_What do you mean he's not coming back? Sure, it's been a few months, but he said he would get me to Nicole! He wouldn't just leave me here!_" Silence yet again.

"_You think he would?_" Isaac asked himself, "_No, I don't believe you! He'll be back! I'll wait all night if I have to! I have to get back to her at all costs!_" And with that, the video log ended, and Alex moved the screen out of the way.

"Timmy?" she asked gently, watching as I stared at the screen in shock, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open. I was sure I had turned pale, too.

"I'm okay," I assured her in a slightly shaky voice, "This is just a lot to take in, that's all. Now I feel even worse than before. I shouldn't have left him here. I should have just stayed."

"If it's any condolence," Alex began, "You had no control over what happened to Isaac."

"I guess not," I sighed, "I just want to set things right. Starting now."

* * *

Once I was back in my apartment at the end of the day, I began to shrug off my clothes so that I could go to sleep for the night. My day in the hospital had taken a toll on me, especially after having my short conversation with Isaac.

As I climbed into bed, I closed my eyes as I took in the lights from outside the _Sprawl _yet again, but as I closed my eyes to sleep, I suddenly heard someone whisper into my ear.

"Timmy," a voice whispered, and my eyes snapped open as I whipped my head around to face the doorway to my room, where I thought I saw a figure. When I blinked, however, it was gone.


	3. Every Victim's Nightmare

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, and overall read this story so far! This chapter will mark the start of the actual game, and any questions you may have about certain characters will be answered later in the story. I've also gotten a little further into _Dead Space 2_. It's still awesome and I really like some of the new gameplay features, though I'm still not used to the new Zero-G gameplay yet. With that in mind, enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy, Alex, Dr. Fraiser, and Nurse Jenkins are mine. Everyone else, as well as any dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **Since the events of _Dead Space 2 _are officially starting in this chapter, I thought I'd put the spoiler warning out again to be safe, and this warning will apply to the rest of the story so I don't have to keep repeating this. Don't say I didn't warn you!

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third-person POV

* * *

_**Three months later…**_

"Almost ready?" I asked as I fixed my tie, which had taken me forever to put together.

"Yeah!" Alex replied, "Just another minute and I should be good!"

"What's the worst that could happen?" I joked, "A broken nail?"

The door cracked open slightly and Alex peeked her head around the corner. "Damn straight," she responded, "I've just got to get my dress on and then we can go." She shut the door again, and I sat down on the couch as I waited for her. These last three months on the _Sprawl _had been eventful, that was for sure. I had formed a friendship with Alex ever since the day we first met in the hospital, and I had gotten used to being back here. The hospital still hadn't found out about me, thank God, but that didn't matter now. I had figured out a long time ago that Isaac Clarke didn't want anything to do with me despite not remembering who I was, so my frequent visits ended up becoming sporadic again. I sighed as I felt guilty again, but maybe it was for the best. Isaac would open up when he was ready. I had to give him time first.

Right now, Alex and I were attending a black-tie event for one of her closest friends, and apparently, an entertainer with a flamethrower was to show up as well. It was pretty exciting, to be honest with you.

The door opened again, and Alex exited the bathroom, fully dressed now. "Let's get this show on the road!" she said excitedly as she slipped into her heels and ushered me out the door. This was going to be quite a night!

* * *

_**Meanwhile, in the hospital, Dr. Frasier was just exiting his office, and as he collected his briefcase, he ran into someone out in the hallway. **_

_**"Oh, sorry, Nurse Jenkins!" he apologized, "I didn't see you there." **_

_**"I just got here now," Nurse Jenkins replied, ignoring Frasier's apology, "Are you ready with the information?" **_

_**"Yes. Let's go." Once they made sure nobody was following them, they left the hospital together and took a tram over to their destination. Along the way, Nurse Jenkins took out a pen and paper and began to write a message on it. This had to go into the right hands. If it didn't…well, they would worry about that later. **_

_**As soon as they got to the office building ahead of them, Frasier and Jenkins quietly entered and immediately found the secretary they were looking for. While Frasier kept a lookout, Jenkins handed over the note. **_

_**"I think the Director will find this very useful," she reasoned, a grin forming across her face. **_

* * *

The black-tie event was a great turnout over the next several hours. Many of Alex's friends showed up, including the entertainer with the flamethrower, who was performing different fire-breathing tricks with the torch. Drinks went all around, though what we were celebrating, I wasn't exactly sure of.

"Life," Alex told me once I popped that question on her, "Just the fact that we've been able to live in space for this long. It's a reason to celebrate." She handed me a glass of white wine as she said this.

"Cheers," I said, toasting her and a few others as I took a sip. Alex did the same before putting her glass down.

"Sounds like a slow song is starting," she announced, "Want to dance?"

I swallowed some more of my drink before considering it. _Come on, Timmy, _I chided myself, _You've taken on Necromorphs on a bloody ship, but you're scared to dance with a girl? _I shook my head as I replied, "Sure. I should warn you, though; I have two left feet."

"Don't we all?" Alex responded as she led me into the middle of the room. I felt her drape her arms around my neck as I slid my hands around her waist, and with that, we began dancing along with everyone else.

I remembered how last year, I couldn't even get a girl to look at me, and now, I was dancing with one in my arms! She seemed to have a good time as well, and I began to wonder if there was a little more than friendship going on here. I had only known her for three months, but still. Was this how Isaac felt with Nicole?

Just as things were getting heated, however, a window suddenly smashed open and someone screamed. The music stopped instantly, and the entertainer that had brought the flamethrower stopped doing tricks with flames. "What's going on?" Alex cried, and I could feel her heart beat against mine.

Suddenly, a familiar roaring sound caught my ears, and when I glanced over at the window, I saw none other than a Slasher not unlike the ones I encountered on the _Ishimura._ As everyone screamed around me, I scanned the crowd until I spotted the entertainer with his flamethrower in the corner. Abandoning Alex for a minute, I ran over to the man in costume. "Timmy!" Alex cried from behind me, "What are you doing?"

I ignored her as I approached the entertainer. "Give me your flamethrower!" I ordered, and he looked uncertain.

"Sir?" he asked cautiously.

"Give it to me!" I insisted, and he hurriedly handed it over to me. Sprinting to the window, I approached the snarling Slasher, who was approaching one of the other guests menacingly. Everyone began to whisper in confusion and fear as I marched over to the Slasher.

"What is he doing?"

"Why does he have the flamethrower?"

Ignoring them as well, I watched as the Slasher faced me and growled. As it ran towards me, I flipped the flamethrower on and began to torch it, not caring if I was using all the fuel in it. The Necromorph screamed as it became dehydrated, and then it was down. Turning around, I faced the other partygoers, who were staring at me incredulously.

"What the hell was that?" one guest demanded.

"How did you know how to kill it?" another woman added incredulously.

"Timmy?" Alex asked, and I turned to face her.

"I can explain," I replied, holding up the flamethrower, but before I could, the front door suddenly broke down, and a few men in suits poured into the room as they carried machine-gun type weapons in their hands.

"There he is!" they cried, pointing at me, "Take him down!" And without warning, they began to open fire.

"_Whoa_!" I gasped as everyone around me began to panic and run around in circles, "_What the fuck?_" At first I couldn't move, but when the shock wore off, the only thing I thought about was getting out of there.

"Get down!" I shouted at Alex, pulling her down to the ground with me as we ducked to avoid the shower of bullets.

"Those are men from the EarthGov!" Alex realized as she watched one of them run by us.

"What the hell are they doing here?" I demanded, "And why are they shooting at me?"

"God only knows!" Alex cried, "Let's get out of here!" Grabbing her hand, I leaped up from the ground again and began to pull her along as we ran towards the closest exit.

"He's heading out the back door!" one of the EarthGov agents announced to the others, "And he's got a woman with him!"

"Open fire! Open fire!" another one shouted, and Alex screamed and ducked her head as a few bullets ricocheted off the walls right next to our ears. I shoved her outside and then followed suit, and once we were back in the main strip, we slowed down for a minute.

"We have to keep going," I panted as I shrugged off my jacket and rolled up the sleeves on my shirt, "We can't let those goons get us."

"Wait," Alex said, reaching down and removing the bottom of her dress until she was only wearing the halter top and a miniskirt. She kicked off her high heels and then began to approach me.

"The bottom half of that dress and those shoes were going to slow me down," she said as she and I began to run down the desolate street. In the distance, we could hear snarling and people screaming for help, which was nothing new to me after being on the _Ishimura _and Aegis 7. I closed my eyes for a minute and shook my head, cursing myself for not bringing the entertainer's flamethrower with me after the Necromorphs incident back at the party.

"Are you okay?" I asked Alex as we hurried along.

She shook her head. "No," she mumbled, "Are you?"

"No," I repeated, "But we have to stay calm until we find out what's going on around here."

"Yeah, like why the government was trying to kill us! No, _you_!"

I had to wonder that, too. Although it didn't show on my face, I was rattled by the assault back at the party. Why _was _the government there? How did they know I was there?

"So now what?" Alex asked.

"We have to find Isaac," I told her, "I know he doesn't really want to see me, but he'll know what to do about all this. He even saved my life when I first met him." Alex didn't seem sure about this, so I was hoping she would just go along with it for now.

"We're here!" she announced, pointing at the hospital, and we quickly ran inside and barricaded the doors.

"This way!" I cried, and we continued to sprint, not letting our guards down for a minute. I could tell Alex was horrified, but as long as she remained calm, we would be fine.

We ran up the stairs two at a time, where the dim lights flickered above our heads, some of them even shutting off for good. "My God," Alex whispered in a shaky voice, "Imagine traveling through here alone."

"I've done it before," I explained, "On the _Ishimura. _It wasn't fun. And I was defenseless, too."

"Wow," Alex said, "You're pretty brave."

I scoffed. "Believe me, I'm the biggest coward you'll ever meet," I responded, "I was terrified the whole time."

"You and Isaac still managed to tough it out, it seems." I nodded as I repeatedly shifted my gaze from wall to wall. There was no telling what would pop out of a vent around here.

We continued to hunt for Isaac when Alex spoke up again. "So you and Isaac Clarke are good friends, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered, "But he doesn't remember a lot from three years ago. We'll have to get him to try."

"Shh," Alex whispered, "I hear something." I extended my ears to listen. I heard it, too. A voice.

"Come on!" I shouted to Alex, and we sprinted, following the sound of the voice until we ran into someone standing in front of a stasis capsule.

"And that's it," the man muttered to himself as he pressed a few buttons, "You're a free man." Alex and I glanced at each other, and Alex cleared her throat, causing the man to glance up.

"Oh!" he gasped, "I didn't see you there for a minute. What are you two doing here? How did you survive the outbreak?"

"Sheer luck," I sighed, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just freeing Isaac Clarke from stasis," the man explained as the capsule hissed and slowly opened.

"Can we trust you?" Alex asked skeptically.

The man didn't answer at first, but when he did, he shook both our hands. "My name is Franco Delille," he said, "And you can trust me."

* * *

"Hurry!" Franco cried as he and I carried a lethargic Isaac into a side room, "In here! We've got to wake him up!" Alex rubbed her bare shoulders as she looked around the blood-stained room. Meanwhile, I glanced at Isaac, who was still sleeping in his straitjacket. That had to be uncomfortable.

While Alex and I looked on in anticipation, Franco shined a flashlight into the engineer's eyes and began to snap his fingers. "Isaac!" he cried, "Isaac, can you hear me?"

We suddenly heard a soft _clang,_ and Franco looked over his shoulder before speaking into a small communicator. "Daina," he sighed, "I've found Isaac Clarke! Repeat, I have him!"

"_Great work, Franco_!" a clipped, English-accented voice replied, who I assumed was "Daina", "_Be careful! He's been out a long time!_"

"Who's Daina?" I asked Franco, but before he could answer, we all suddenly heard a groaning noise.

"Look, he's coming around," Alex reported as Isaac opened his eyes and shifted in his seat.

"Good, good!" Franco panted, "Steady!" He helped Isaac to stand up on his own two feet.

"We've got to get you out of this straitjacket," he mused to himself, "Timmy, you take that side, and I'll take this side." We both began attempting to remove the straitjacket, but to no avail.

"W-where am I?" Isaac mumbled tiredly.

"Don't worry," I assured him, "You're safe with us. We're not going to let anything happen." We suddenly heard another noise, and Franco whipped his head around before gripping Isaac by the arms.

"Listen," he started, "I know you're confused right now. I can explain everything, but you've got to trust me, okay? You better listen to this, too, Timmy. This concerns you as well." I glanced at Alex and gulped, wondering what I had to do with all this.

"You're both in terrible, terrible dang-"

_Bam! _From out of nowhere, a familiar-looking proboscis suddenly pierced through Franco's chest, and he screamed in agony. "Timmy?" Alex asked cautiously, "What's happening to Franco?"

"Fuck!" I cursed, "An Infector! Isaac, look out!" But Franco continued to grip Isaac as he slowly turned into an Enhanced Slasher right before our eyes. In an attempt to save himself, Isaac head butted Franco and then took off towards the exit of the room.

"Come on!" I cried, and the three of us ran for it, Alex and I each taking one of Isaac's arms to support him.

"_Franco?_" Daina cried from the other end, "_Franco, what happened? Oh, God. Isaac! Isaac, if you can hear me, run! Run!_" And with that, we broke out into a run as Slashers popped out from every room next to us.

"_Evacuation in progress,_" a voice announced and then repeated, and Slashers attacked us from every corner. I nervously glanced at the back of Isaac's straitjacket and noticed that it was red. Not a good sign. Alex and I had also taken damage, and I noticed Alex was limping even more than usual. None of that mattered now, though; we had to get out of there! Even worse, none of us had any sort of tools to defend ourselves with. At least we had each other.

"They're gaining on us!" Alex shouted.

"Hurry up!" Isaac replied, "Through that door up ahead!" Alex and I ran first, but just as Isaac was making his way through, a Slasher leaped out of nowhere and began to attack him.

"Shit!" I cursed, racing forward to help, but Isaac seemed to manage on his own. After fighting off the Necromorph, the enemy got caught in the door, which sliced it in half and locked the door behind us.

"Whew," I sighed, wiping my forehead in relief, "That was a close one. Let's get you out of here, Isaac." The three of us slowly began to pick our way around the facility as Isaac spoke up from next to me.

"So," he croaked, "Timmy. You still came back even though I told you to leave me alone."

I forced myself to laugh. "Looks like it," I replied, "Does this mean you remember who I am?"

"Maybe," Isaac mused, "They were telling me the truth about you, weren't they? That you were a survivor?"

"Yep," I confirmed, "I guess this is Round Two for us." Alex smiled weakly.

"How can you two joke at a time like this?" she asked with curiosity as we continued on our way.

"It wasn't easy," I told her, "But it kept us calm for the most part."

"I'll say. I feel better already."

"I didn't know you knew Timmy," Isaac piped up, facing Alex.

"I met him three months ago," she explained to the engineer, "He told me all about you."

Before Isaac could comment any further, we suddenly heard voices as we rounded the corner. Two men not unlike the ones from the party suddenly whirled around and faced us.

"Clarke!" they shouted, "Take him down!" They began shooting at us, but then something reached down and grabbed one of the agents. The other one pointed his gun all around him until he was snatched up as well.

"What the hell was that about?" Isaac muttered as he stood up as straight as he could again after panicking and ducking to avoid the bullets.

"The EarthGov is after you?" I asked him in surprise, "They're targeting me, too! They found me at a party and tried to kill me!" I felt Alex rest a hand on my arm.

"Damn," Isaac cursed under his breath, "This can't be just a coincidence. We've got to stick together and find out what's going on around here." As we entered the next hallway, a mangled body suddenly fell from the ceiling, causing us to wince as we moved on. Once we made it through, another voice echoed over the loudspeakers.

"_This is Director Tiedemann to all project personnel,_" Director Tiedemann announced, "_I want the key subjects terminated and the facility scrubbed. This is not a drill. Tiedemann out._"

"Tiedemann?" I asked the others, "Who the hell is Tiedemann? I've barely heard about him in my three months here."

"I've heard that name before," Isaac reported, "He's some director on the _Sprawl._"

"I don't like him," Alex declared firmly as we moved on.

"Any particular reason why?" I pressed as we entered another lab room. Before Alex could say anything, we suddenly heard a voice from a screen up ahead.

"_Subject is Nolan Stross. Session one five eight._"

Hold on. That voice sounded familiar, and when we crept up to the screen, we saw why.

"Edgar Foster," Isaac and I muttered under our breaths.

"Nolan Stross," Alex added, "I've helped to give him medications before."

"Dr. Frasier was reading his file three months ago," I told the others, "But why?"

"You got me," Isaac said to us, "Wait. I hear Foster continuing." We quieted down as we watched the video. Nolan Stross was sitting in the middle of the room while Foster checked him out.

"_Now…the eye is looking much better today? Yes, don't you think?_"

"_It h-hurts,_" Nolan stammered, "_Still hurts." _

_"Yes, I'll schedule you for another session tomorrow." _

_"No, no, no. I don't think I'm ready. I don't think I can take another session, I don't-" _

_"There!" _Foster declared, "_First thing tomorrow._"

"Well, he sure doesn't waste time," I commented under my breath, and Alex and Isaac smirked before we turned our attention back to the video.

"_Now,_" Foster continued, "_Let's talk about what you saw today._" Nolan didn't say anything at first.

"_Come on, Stross. I'm here to help you!_" Isaac scoffed out loud at this.

Nolan glanced up from his lap as he replied, "_It was black. Deep black, and glowing red with symbols. Symbols that…whispered to me…" _

Foster leaned in close to Nolan's face, and I couldn't help but wince a little bit. "_And what did the symbols whisper to you?"_ he asked in a low voice. We watched as Nolan became more and more visibly uncomfortable.

"_Come on, Stross,"_ Foster insisted, "_What?_"

"Jesus," I hissed under my breath, "You worked with this guy, Alex?" She shrugged and we continued to watch the scene unfolding in front of us.

"_It was just a shard," _Nolan answered, "_It was just a shard. But it put so much stuff in my head. So much…shit in my head. There's no more room for anything. I can't remember what she looks like. Why can't I remember what she looks like?" _

_"The symbols, Stross!"_ Foster snapped, "_What did the symbols tell you?" _

_"They tell me it wasn't my fault!" _Nolan shouted, "_I didn't kill them! They didn't deserve this and I didn't deserve this! Fucker." _He turned away as Foster gave his diagnosis.

"_Put Mr. Stross back in stasis. Adjust his medication up 30 milligrams and we'll try another session first thing in the morning._" With that, the video ended and began to play again from the beginning.

"Shit," Isaac cursed under his breath, "Now we really have to get out of here. Let's keep going." He hobbled over to the door in the corner, and Alex and I followed him once more.

"Isaac," I began, "I'm so sorry for leaving you in this hellhole. I didn't know all this was going to happen to you." He didn't say a word, but as we limped into the next hallway, Tiedemann's message played again.

"_This is Director Tiedemann to all project personnel. I want the key subjects terminated and the facility scrubbed. This is not a drill. Tiedemann out._"

"Shut up, Tiedemann!" I snapped at the loudspeakers, "We heard you the first time!"

"This way!" Alex cried, and she pushed the door open ahead of us. When we looked up, we saw someone standing by the glass window. The man was sticking his hand through a broken part and just staring into space. Isaac pushed past us, and as we began to tiptoe around the man, he suddenly whirled around and grabbed Isaac by the throat, holding a knife up to his neck.

"Shit!" I cursed, "Isaac!"

"Dr. Foster!" Alex cried from next to me as Foster chuckled, a psychotic grin spreading across his face. _What the fuck is wrong with him? _I thought to myself.

"Come on, man!" Isaac groaned.

"Patient Four," Foster began, "I remember you. Tiedemann said we…all the key subjects…need to be eliminated. What's one more?"

"Listen," Isaac piped up, "Listen to me, man!"

"Will it matter?"

"Listen to me!" Isaac repeated more insistently.

"_Will it matter?_"

"Let him go!" I yelled, moving forward, but stopping where I was when Foster suddenly pointed the knife at me.

"Foster!" Alex gasped, "You're out of your mind!"

"Stay back and shut up, Stamford!" the insane doctor ordered as he glared at me, "Or I'll cut you next."

"Is that a threat?" I challenged, narrowing my eyes in defiance.

"Hey! What did I tell you?"

"Foster, stop it!" Alex screamed, and with that, the doctor raised the knife back up to Isaac's neck as Isaac tried to reason with him this time.

"We can all get out of here!" the engineer explained, "Just…just cut me out of this straitjacket."

Foster laughed again. "No one's getting out of here alive," he replied, sweeping his gaze over all of us, "No one."

"Don't do it," Isaac warned, and when Foster didn't reply, I felt my heart rate pick up again. Was he actually going to kill all of us right now? We braced ourselves for the kill…which never happened. Lowering the knife, Foster began to cut through Isaac's straitjacket, much to our relief.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" I asked, smirking, as Isaac backed up to stand next to me and Alex, "Have you seen the light at last?"

Foster face me now as he played with the knife in his hands. "You know, Stamford?" he began, "You've got attitude. But it's not going to help you now. There's no escaping from what I've done." Alex shivered next to me, and when it looked like the doctor wanted to attack again, Isaac raised a hand to try and calm him down.

"Take it easy, buddy," he coaxed, "Just take it easy." Foster laughed again.

"Well, damn," I whispered to Isaac and Alex, "We must have missed the latest comedy sketch or something."

"Timmy," Alex hissed under her breath as Foster spoke up again.

"Your RIG is red," he said to Isaac, "It's red. There's a health pack and a flashlight in that wall locker. You should grab them. Go ahead, take it. I won't be needing it anymore." Isaac narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but went anyway, and while he was getting himself situated, Alex and I faced Foster.

"Why?" Alex asked, "You weren't like this in the beginning."

"Times have changed, Miss Adams," Foster replied, "It's chaos out there. Watch your backs. And your tongue, Stamford." I narrowed my eyes at him and balled my hands into fists.

As soon as Isaac was finished healing himself, he grabbed the flashlight and moved to stand next to us again. Foster just watched us with blank eyes, and to our horror, he raised the knife up to his own neck.

"Isaac," he said in a low voice, "We're all gonna burn for what we did to you." And with that, he slit his own neck.

"Damn it!" Isaac cursed as we silently watched the gruesome scene in front of us. This was nothing new to me and the engineer after the _Ishimura, _but Alex looked like she was ready to scream. Instead, she took deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Come on, let's go," Isaac said to us, and using his new flashlight, he led us down the hallway and towards an elevator in the corner.

"Are you two okay?" he asked.

"We're fine," I assured him, "We've just got to stick together now."

"Once we get off the _Sprawl_!" Alex piped up, clutching her leg.

"And we will," Isaac said, "We'll make it out alive."

Just as we approached the elevator, a video log suddenly popped up in front of us, and a blonde woman appeared on the other side. "_Clarke!_" she began, "_Isaac Clarke, is that you?_"

"Who are you?" Isaac asked as we climbed onto the elevator.

"_My name is Daina,_" Daina introduced herself, "_I'm the one trying to rescue you_." So _this _was Daina!

"Why? What's going on?"

"_You're suffering from a unique form of dementia, Isaac,_" Daina explained, "_Something you contracted on Aegis 7._"

"Aegis 7?" I echoed, and with that, Daina faced me, giving me a knowing stare.

"_You must be Timmy Stamford,_" she correctly deduced, "_Yes, I know all about you, too. You were part of Challus Mercer's experiments. And Alex Adams is an intern at the hospital._" I glared at her as the painful memories of the _Ishimura _returned to me in a flash. Out of instinct, I clutched my scarred arm.

"How do you know that?" Isaac demanded, "How do you know all this about us?"

Daina conveniently avoided the question, and I noticed how Alex had gone silent next to me as she watched this exchange. "_Your dementia will kill you, Isaac,_" she insisted, "_But if you can get here, I can treat you and get you and your friends to safety._"

Isaac still wasn't convinced. "Why should we trust you?" he asked, and Daina suddenly looked exasperated.

"_Because I'm not the one shooting at you!_" she insisted.

"Fuck," Isaac cursed under his breath.

"At least there's one other sane person on this ship," I commented, "So, Daina, where are you? Are you locked away in a safe computer room somewhere so you can order us around?" I instantly remembered Kendra Daniels as I said this.

Daina closed her eyes for a minute and shook her head. "_Cheeky,_" she commented, "_Just like they said. Just follow the route I'm sending you._" Before we could say anything else, she disappeared.

"Let's hope Daina can get us out of here," Isaac said as we got off the elevator on this dark floor. Fumbling around for a minute, Isaac switched the flashlight on and began to lead us through the darkness. All around us, we could hear slight noises, which made us flinch, but continue to creep around the room. None of us said a word as we stopped at the next Save Point and kept going from there.

As we rounded the corner, however, Isaac suddenly stopped and clutched his head. "Isaac," I coaxed, shaking him a little bit, "Isaac!"

After a few more seconds, he snapped out of it. "What the hell?" he mumbled to himself.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked as we continued on our way.

"I'm fine," Isaac responded, nodding at her, "I just thought I heard something, that's all."

"What?" I asked as the engineer ripped a metal plate off the wall.

"A woman," Isaac replied as we all climbed into the vent.

"_Welcome…CEC Engineer Isaac Clarke,_" a voice announced, "_Access Granted._"

"Through here," Isaac said to us, and we began to crawl through the passageway, trying not to lose sight of each other.

"I wish she hadn't brought up Mercer," I grumbled, referring to Daina, "That was a horrible experience I hope to never live through again." My arm throbbed as I said this.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Alex apologized.

"I still don't trust her," Isaac quipped, glancing over his shoulder at me.

_Bam! _The floor dropped out from underneath us, and we fell to the ground, landing on top of each other in the process. "Ow," Isaac muttered as he stood up again, helping me and Alex up as Daina radioed in to us again.

"_Isaac, Timmy, Alex!_" she gasped, "_What happened? Are you all right?_"

"We're fine!" Alex reported, "A little shaken, but all right."

"Why are you helping us?" Isaac panted.

"_If Tiedemann finds you, more people will die!_" Daina informed us.

"Including us."

"_Not if you follow my route!_"

"Hey, Daina," I piped up, "What's the deal with this Tiedemann guy, anyway? Why is he trying to kill us?" Daina didn't answer again.

"I don't like this," Isaac declared.

"_You don't have to like it!_" Daina snapped, "_Just hurry before you get locked in!_" Before we could reply, she was already gone.

"Well, isn't she a bowl of peaches?" I commented as we made our way over to the operating table in front of us.

"Very funny," Isaac snorted, "I guess that's her way of trying to help us."

"Hopefully, she can," I said as Isaac began to hack his way into the control panel next to the operating table, ripping something out and slipping it on over his arm.

"Nice," he muttered, "A kinesis module. Good times, huh?"

"Sure," I replied, "Watch this, Alex. It's pretty cool." She moved to stand next to me as Isaac picked up a sharp object and hurled it at one of the glass windows.

"Wow!" she gasped, "That was cool! Do it again."

"If there's anything else that needs to be picked up," Isaac said as we ran around another Necromorph and headed towards the elevator in the corner.

* * *

It hadn't been half an hour when we suddenly heard someone crying for help.

"Help!" a man cried, "Help! Is anyone there?"

"Come on!" Isaac cried, and he led us into another operating room, where a man was strapped down and crying.

"You!" he shouted, "All of you! Thank God! Please, come help me!" Alex and I stood on either side of him as we tried unbuckling the restraints, but to no avail.

"Calm down!" Isaac replied, "I'll cut you out of there, Is that a tissue laser? A plasma cutter?"

"What does it matter?" the man snapped, and suddenly, we heard more roaring as a Slasher entered the room.

"Oh my God!" all three of us gasped, and Alex and I moved out of the way as Isaac continued to hack into this control panel as well.

"Fuck," Isaac cursed.

"_What the fuck are you doing?_" the man cried, "Get me out of here!"

"Oh, shit!" Isaac snapped.

"Hurry up, Isaac!" Alex shrieked, "It's getting closer!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Isaac thundered, but just as he was putting together a makeshift Plasma Cutter, the Slasher suddenly swooped in for the kill, causing the man to flat line. As the familiar beeping noise ensued, the Slasher turned to face us and approached us first, since we were defenseless.

"Out of the way!" Isaac shouted at us, and Alex and I moved off to the side as the engineer began to strategically dismember the Necromorph, just like he had on the _Ishimura._ Once that Slasher, and a few others that had poured into the room, were down, Isaac reloaded the Plasma Cutter and closed his eyes for a minute, breathing heavily as he wiped the blood off his face. He stumbled down the stairs and stood in front of us as he continued to pant.

"Isaac?" I asked, cautiously approaching him, "You remembered how to kill the Necromorphs?"

He nodded. "Yes," he confirmed, "It just came back to me in a flash."

"That's the only way you can kill them, isn't it?" Alex asked as we continued on our way.

Isaac nodded. "I was given that information on the _Ishimura,_" he explained, "Yes. It's coming back now."

"And you passed that info on to me," I added, "I was such a prick in the beginning and I didn't believe you."

"I remember," Isaac replied, smirking.

"You must have really changed, then," Alex quipped.

"Believe me," I said to her, "You wouldn't have liked me back then."

As we made our way into the next area, Daina suddenly contacted us. "_Isaac, Timmy, Alex, it's Daina,_" she began, "_You have to dismember the creatures to stop them._"

"We know," Isaac responded, "We've had a lot of practice."

"_Just try to stay in one piece._"

"Thanks," Isaac thanked her before she went offline, "Let's keep moving."

And with that, we set off towards the nearest exit, wondering what else we would witness on the _Sprawl._


	4. Xenial Intentions

Okay! So I've decided to start uploading the chapters to this story every weekend, since I don't have a lot of time during the week, and I've decided I'm just going to upload the next chapter now! Thanks again to everyone who has been supporting this so far! I really appreciate it! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy and Alex are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **Same spoiler warning applies here.

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions and Isaac's POV

**Bold- ? (You'll figure out who's POV this is when you read it :D)**

* * *

"This is not happening right now," Alex muttered to herself as we continued through the deserted hallways. In front of us, Isaac ran ahead as he continued to dismember all the Necromorphs in sight. Alex and I stayed close until we could find weapons of our own. I suddenly missed my flamethrower from the _Ishimura _and Aegis 7_._

"Not to worry," Isaac said, turning around to face us, "We'll find a way out."

"If we could get out of the _Ishimura _alive, we can escape the _Sprawl,_" I added, "But we need to find weapons soon. I wish I had brought that flamethrower from the party." I sighed in frustration.

"Why didn't you?" Alex asked, placing a hand on her hip.

I faced her. "I wasn't thinking too clearly," I replied, "You know, with the government trying to kill me back there!"

She backed off for a minute. "Sorry," she apologized, "I shouldn't have said that." We continued to make our way through the facility, but as soon as we entered the next lighted area, alarms began to ring and orange lights flashed on and off.

"Damn it," I cursed, "Is this a quarantine, Isaac? Like on the _Ishimura?_"

Isaac paused for a minute and narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so," he muttered, "There's no voice announcing a quarantine."

All of a sudden, a loud voice echoed over the piercing alarms. "Isaac?" it shouted, "Isaac!" We all glanced over to the exit and saw a man in a white, short-sleeved jumpsuit standing there.

"Come on, come on!" he cried, "They're after us!" He turned to flee.

"Wait!" Isaac yelled, "_Wait! _Who is? Who's after us?"

"Hold on!" I added, "Isn't that…?" The man was gone before I could get a better look at him.

"Let's follow him!" Alex suggested, and the three of us began to chase after him. We nearly stumbled all over ourselves as we ran down the stairs, and as soon as we made it to the floor below us, we spotted the man rolling underneath the closing gate.

"There he is!" I cried, "Come on!"

The man seemed to notice us as well, and he began to wave frantically. "Isaac! Isaac! Through here! Come on, Isaac!"

"What about the rest of us?" I shouted over the din.

"You, too!" the man responded, "Come on!" But before we could move, the gate lowered to the point where none of us would be able to fit.

"Aww, no!" the man groaned, "NO! Isaac! Remember me! Patient five. I'm patient five, remember? Do you remember? Agh!"

"Did you say 'patient five'?" Alex quipped.

"Yes!" the patient insisted, "Patient five! You know me!" And with that, the gate closed, and the man ran away.

"Now what?" I groaned, and Isaac began to fume.

"Daina!" he snapped into his communicator, "Your fucking route didn't work! There's a security lockdown!" That was another thing that was different about Isaac after three years. He was less even-tempered.

"_I told you all to hurry!_" Daina replied in an equally short tone, "_How'd you miss it?_"

"We were running for our lives from Necromorphs!" I replied, "Just in case you weren't aware!"

"_I'm well aware, Timmy,_" Daina snarled.

"Look, we don't need your help," Isaac piped up angrily.

"_Fine!_" Daina huffed, "_Let's see how long you three last without it!_"

"Fine with us!" I responded, "All you've been doing is snapping at us. Some help there!"

"_I didn't ask for your opinion,_" Daina fumed, "_Who do you think you are?_"

"We're just trying to get out of this alive!" I argued, "And you have a lot of nerve thinking you're our only way out of here!"

"_Fine, then. Let Tiedemann find all of you! You'll be dead before you even move!_"

"If we could survive the _Ishimura, _we can get out of this," Isaac growled, and Daina sighed before signing off.

"What was that all about, Timmy?" Alex asked, "You seemed to just lose your mind right there."

I closed my eyes and then reopened them, glancing down at my hands as I realized I had snapped for a minute. "Sorry," I apologized, "I didn't mean to lose it."

_Roar! _"Aw, shit!" Isaac cursed as Slashers popped out of one of the side rooms, and he proceeded to take them all out as Alex and I stayed close to him until we could find our own weapons. The whole time, I thought about my minor meltdown, and I had to wonder if I was really as okay as I thought I was. I thought about the familiar vision from three months ago and suddenly began to question my own sanity.

Once all the Necromorphs were down, Isaac reloaded his Plasma Cutter and took a deep breath. "I'm going to call Daina," he announced to us, and Alex nodded without arguing.

"Why?" I asked harshly, "Why should we stay in contact with a stuck up bitch?"

"Because she wants to help me," Isaac replied, "She said she had a cure for me. I can't pass that up. Not after being lost for three years."

I sighed. After being betrayed by Kendra Daniels the last time, I was wary of anyone who said they wanted to help us. "Are you sure we can trust her?" I asked skeptically, "Remember Kendra?"

"What happened with Kendra?" Alex questioned, widening her eyes.

"She betrayed us on the _Ishimura,_" Isaac grumbled, "She pretended to help us the whole time and then she stole the Marker right from under us!"

"And she left us to die on Aegis 7!" I added, "But she didn't make it out. Neither did the Marker." Alex didn't say a word.

"But Daina isn't Kendra," Isaac reasoned, facing me, "She's just trying to help us. If I can find a cure, I can feel _normal _again."

I considered the engineer's words for a minute. I could only imagine that the last three years were tough for him. And who was I to question him? I had left him here! I couldn't blame him for feeling differently.

"As long as she ends up helping you, I guess we can accept her help," I decided. Isaac nodded, shook my hand, and radioed in to Daina.

"Daina?" he quipped, "Daina? Okay, you're right. We do need your help. Talk to us."

"_Look, you three,_" Daina replied, "_We don't have to be friends, but like it or not, we're all stuck together. Tiedemann's your enemy, not me._"

"But _why_?" I asked, "What does he want with the three of us?"

"_It's only you and Isaac he wants, not Alex,_" Daina replied, "_But since you've dragged her along, you've painted a target on the back of her head as well._"

"Sorry, Alex," I apologized quickly, "I shouldn't have gotten you involved in all of this."

"You didn't drag me along!" Alex insisted, "I chose to go with you!"

After a second, Daina reappeared. "_All right,_" she announced, "_I've found you a new route._"

"Fine," Isaac sighed, "So where the hell am I? How did another Necromorph outbreak get started?"

"_You're on Titan Station, orbiting Saturn. As for the outbreak…_" Suddenly, a burst of static interrupted her.

"Daina?" Alex cried, "Daina, are you there?"

"_Shit!_" Daina cursed, "_Tiedemann's jamming my signal!_" And with that, she disappeared.

"Let's just keep going," Isaac mumbled, leading us into the next room.

* * *

_The more we continued to run around the hospital, the more confused we became, especially me. What was with Daina and leaving all these cryptic answers for me? Why couldn't anyone be straightforward? _

_"I wonder where patient five went," Timmy piped up from next to me as we stopped at another Save Station. I glanced over at him for a second and thought about how we were reunited again after a long time. On one front, it was good to have him back. He was the only one that had stayed on my side during our time on the _Ishimura. _On the other hand, I still resented him a little bit, though he didn't know it. He had broken his promise to come back for me. How could I be sure he wouldn't do it again? Sure, he apologized, but I distinctly remembered some instances on the _Ishimura _when he had not been honest with me. _

_"Hopefully, far away from here," Alex sighed as she reached down to massage the leg she had been limping on all night. I briefly wondered what that was all about, as well as why she had decided to tag along with us. I knew her from my days in confinement, but still. She didn't explain much about herself. _

_A low humming noise greeted us as we entered the next room, where a few Stasis Recharge stations were situated. An electrical circuit was in front of us, and I faced the others. _

_"Stand back," I warned them, "I'll handle this." Ripping the metal cover off, I began to slowly hack my way into the system, disconnecting some wires and plugging in others. From behind me, Timmy and Alex watched with wide eyes as I worked on the circuits. Even with my apparent sickness, that had been something that never changed. I still remembered everything from my days with the CEC and the Merchant Marines. Once I was finished with the hacking, I decided to make a makeshift Stasis Module, since I had improvised the Kinesis Module and the Plasma Cutter. _

_"Isaac," Alex gasped, "You're a genius!" _

_"Thanks," I thanked her. As I was getting myself situated, we suddenly heard a growling noise, and Timmy looked up and gasped. _

_"Watch out!" he cried, and pushing past him, I used Stasis to slow the Necromorph down in order to shoot it with my Plasma Cutter. Once it was dead, we all breathed a collected sigh of relief and then continued through the room. _

_"Back to using Stasis, huh?" Timmy joked, "I see that hasn't changed, either. It really came in handy on the _Ishimura._" _

_Smirking to myself, I turned away from Timmy so that he wouldn't see my face. It was obvious that he was trying to make up for breaking his promise, and even I knew that just saying sorry and cracking jokes wouldn't be enough. He was going to have to do much better than that. Much better. _

_We continued on our way, and as we entered another dimly lit room, we ran into more Necromorphs, including one that spit vomit onto us. _

_"What the hell?" Timmy cried as he healed himself quickly, "We never faced Necromorphs like these on the _Ishimura!_" _

_"New adventure, new Necromorphs, I guess," I replied as I dismembered all of them strategically. _

_"Just as long as dismemberment continues to work on all of them," Alex piped up, "We should be fine." _

_"It works on all the ones here," I explained to her, "Even though some of them have different strategies on how to kill them." _

_"Yeah, like the Pregnant," Timmy added, "Do you think any of those are here?" _

_"I hope not," I said to him as I reloaded my Plasma Cutter, "The last thing we need are those Swarms that emerge from the stomach." Timmy shuddered. _

_Up ahead was an elevator, and after we called it, the three of us got on and began riding it down to a lower level. At first, nobody said anything, until Timmy broke the silence yet again. _

_"Does anybody want to improvise elevator music?" he joked, and Alex laughed while I chuckled to myself and shook my head. I cursed myself for this. I was supposed to be pissed at him, and I still was a little bit. Our merriment, however, was cut short when the elevator shook just before the lights flickered and then shut off. _

_"What the fuck?" I muttered under my breath. _

_"Oh, God, are we going to get stuck in here?" Alex asked, panicking. Timmy took her hand in his and squeezed it just as I began to hear something very familiar. _

_"How I wonder what you are," a woman sang, "Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky…" _

_Suddenly, there was a soft rattling noise. "Did you two just hear that?" I asked. _

_"Hear what?" Timmy asked, but I didn't answer him as a shadow moved along the wall. Glancing to my left, I spotted someone with glowing eyes and a glowing mouth approaching me, and when she got closer, I recognized her immediately. _

_"Nicole?" I gasped. She didn't say anything, but continued to stare at me blankly. From my right, due to the light reflecting from the static screen next to me, I spotted Timmy staring at me with a worried expression on his face as soon as he heard me mention her name. _

_"Isaac," he hissed, "Isaac, snap out of it!" _

_But I couldn't. Nicole was still standing there, and even though I expected her to do something else, I knew she wouldn't. Instead, she began to move close to me, and I went to reach a hand out to her. _

_Suddenly, everything turned orange as she hissed, "Make us whole!" And with that, I felt my blood go cold as everything flashed around me, forcing me to close my eyes. _

_"Isaac!" Timmy shouted, "Isaac!" He then snapped his fingers. _

_"ISAAC!" _

_I opened my eyes again and noticed that the lights had come back on and that we were moving once again. I took a few deep breaths as I glanced at the spot Nicole had been in. _

_"Are you okay, man?" Timmy asked, gripping my arms, "You're as white as a ghost." I didn't answer, but only stared at the spot Nicole had been standing in. _

_"What did you see, Isaac?" Timmy asked again as Alex just stared back and forth between the two of us. I still didn't respond. _

_"Isaac," Timmy repeated a little more insistently, "What did you see?" _

_I finally decided to answer. "Nicole," I said, and with that, Timmy widened his eyes and let go of me as the elevator arrived at our destination. _

_But that wasn't possible. Nicole was…dead. Why was I seeing her again? _

_

* * *

_

As we made our way through the next few hallways, I thought about what had just happened in the elevator. Isaac was seeing Nicole again, apparently, even though this time, he knew she was deceased. It was sad, but the truth, nonetheless. I wasn't sure whether or not to talk about Nicole with Isaac, seeing as how that had earned me a slap across the face back on the _Ishimura, _as well as the minor arguments that followed after that.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked him cautiously, "Alex and I are here for you no matter what happens."

Isaac thought about it for a minute and then shook his head. "No," he decided, "Let's just keep moving." I wondered if he remembered how touchy this subject had been during our first adventure. I glanced at Alex, who just shrugged.

Suddenly, with a burst of wind, the gate in front of us flew open, and we found ourselves holding onto the metal railing in front of us for dear life. "Holy shit!" Isaac gasped out loud as he held his Plasma Cutter out in front of him and shot a switch above the gate.

"_Hull breach rectified,_" a voice announced once we calmed down.

"Damn," Alex cursed, "That was close. Hopefully, there won't be any more close calls like that."

"We can only hope," Isaac replied, leading us into the next room, where a store greeted us.

"Yes, a store!" Isaac cried in relief, "Time to change suits. Can you two keep a lookout?"

"Go for it," I said encouragingly, and we waited for a minute or two while Isaac disappeared into the store and then reemerged in his classic Mining Suit.

"Now, this is more like it," he muttered to himself, "I suggest you two get changed, too. You can't run around like that forever."

"Good idea," I agreed, "Maybe we should buy some method of defense while we're here, too. I don't know about you, Alex, but I'm getting a Plasma Cutter. Hopefully, I can trade it in for a flamethrower later."

"If that's what you want to do," Alex replied, and nodding, I stepped inside the store and quickly changed into a suit similar to Isaac's. I remembered for a minute how Dr. Terrence Kyne had given me a pressurized suit on the _Ishimura, _and I swallowed for a minute. I never thought I would say this, but I missed him a little bit, even though he was more unstable than Isaac.

Once I was changed, I bought a Plasma Cutter as well, and while Alex took care of herself, Isaac moved forward to show me how to use it. "I forgot that you didn't use any other weapon except for the flamethrower," he commented.

"And the Pulse Rifle," I added, remembering how I had used Zach Hammond's Pulse Rifle for a little bit. I gulped again at the fact that both Hammond and Kyne seemed to have died in vain.

I practiced aiming and shooting, which was awkward after being used to the flamethrower, but I would get used to it over time. Once Alex was finished getting situated, she practiced using the Plasma Cutter as well before we typed information into the Save Station once again. "How do you two stand running in these suits?" Alex asked, "They're so bulky!"

"You get used to it over time," Isaac replied. As we followed the engineer, we slipped our helmets on over our heads as we felt gushing air from the opening door in front of us.

"_Entering vacuum,_" a female voice announced as everything went silent around us. So we were going through these parts again, huh? I felt the familiar lightheaded sensation, but I was prepared for it this time. Next to me, Alex was staggering a little bit, but managed to pick herself up as we quickly ran through the airless corridor. I glanced at the timer on Isaac's back, and I noticed we had much more time to breathe than back on the _Ishimura._ I liked these suits already.

"_Exiting vacuum,_" the same voice announced again once we made it back inside. We all took deep breaths as we steadied ourselves.

"Damn," Alex hissed under her breath as she clutched her chest.

"You'll get used to it," I assured her, smiling a little bit, "Trust me. I was just like you when I was on the _Ishimura._"

Isaac didn't respond, but looked around the room in suspicion. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I see a Stasis Recharge in the corner," he mused, "That can't be good. Why am I going to have to recharge my Stasis Module?"

I saw where he was coming from, and I suddenly felt the same way. Any time there was either a Stasis Recharge or a bunch of crates with ammo and med packs, that wasn't a good sign.

We began to creep forward as we held our Plasma Cutters in front of us. My arms ached from the weight of it at first. I was not used to this weapon at all, and I could tell Alex was having a tough time with it as well.

Suddenly, we heard a _crash _in front of us, and when we looked up, a large, three-legged Necromorph appeared, roaring as it plowed towards us in apish movements similar to the Brute. "Holy shit!" we all cursed in unison, backing up as this enemy advanced towards us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the familiar blue bolt of energy sail past me, and once the Necromorph, which we nicknamed the Tripod, was slowed down, we began to shoot at the yellow pods on its arms. It was difficult to aim with the Plasma Cutter, but we tried our best. The Tripod soon recovered from the Stasis and stormed towards us again, but before we could do anything, we already felt it slam into us, knocking us back a few feet. The pain was too much. It was almost like getting mowed down by a Brute.

"Fuck," Isaac cursed under his breath as he staggered to his feet again.

"Are you okay?" I shouted as the Tripod backed off for a minute.

"I'm fine," the engineer responded, leaping up and using Stasis again. He shot at the Necromorph's left arm while Alex and I took the right arm, and through our combined, albeit clumsy on Alex and I's parts, efforts, we managed to bring the Tripod down until all we had to do was shoot at its leg. Isaac quickly ran and refilled his Stasis Module, and when he returned, we all shot at the remaining leg until the Necromorph was down for good.

Once the Tripod was down, Isaac took a deep breath and reloaded his Plasma Cutter while Alex and I did the same. "Jesus, that thing was angry," Isaac commented.

"Tell me about it," I replied, "But good thing we killed it, right?"

"Yeah," Isaac answered, glancing down at his communicator, "Daina? We're out of the hospital."

"_Okay,_" Daina replied, "_The tram station is just beyond the apartment blocks._"

"Hang on," Isaac interrupted, "I need more answers. How long have I been here?"

"_Three years,_" Daina explained, "_Tiedemann found you and Timmy floating in space near Aegis 7 and brought you here for study, but then records show that Timmy ran away and disappeared shortly after arrival._"

"Wait a minute," I piped up this time, "I don't remember Tiedemann being on the Recovery Patrol. There were two guys, Maxamillian Reinhardt and Xandar Sklar. They picked us up!"

"_Messengers for Tiedemann,_" Daina explained, "_You wouldn't remember him because you didn't see him. He sent Reinhardt and Sklar to pick you two up._"

"Why can't I remember anything?" Isaac inquired.

"_The Marker you two found imprinted your brain with a self-replicating signal. The longer you're awake, the more the signal spreads. It's killing you, Isaac. Tiedemann tried to keep it in check with memory suppressants." _

"Oh, my God," I petitioned under my breath as I face-palmed myself. If I didn't feel bad for leaving Isaac here, I felt even worse now. I was a horrible friend.

"You said you could fix it, right?" Isaac asked.

"_Only if you reach me in time. Tram station. Get moving._"

"What about me?" I asked with dread, "I came in contact with the Marker, too. Is the same thing happening to me?"

"_To a minor extent, yes. It seemed to take a while before you finally suffered some of the same symptoms Isaac did, though."_

Great. This was just great!

"_Just hurry up and get to the tram station,_" Daina repeated before going offline.

Alex had remained silent the whole time, which made me wonder what she was thinking about.

* * *

**"**_**Attention,**_**" a voice announced after a familiar ringing noise echoed through the part of the station I was traveling through, "**_**This is Director Tiedemann. A station-wide emergency is in effect. In accordance with Titan Station Civic Code, I am declaring martial law. All citizens are ordered to evacuate. Looters will be shot on sight. This is not a drill. Move immediately to the nearest evac route." **_

**Damn. That seemed impossible, but other civilians were still trying, nonetheless. All around me, people screamed as the Necromorphs overwhelmed the station, and I wasn't sure how I managed to survive for as long as I did. I was completely defenseless. I supposed hiding and sneaking around were my only options at this point. **

**As I took a break from running for a minute, I glanced down at my hands, which were shaking pretty badly. If I wasn't already shaken up before the outbreak, then I was definitely traumatized at this point. I had never seen so much blood before. So much death. So much pain. Yet at the same time, it was vaguely familiar to me. **

**I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it. **

**As everyone died around me, I closed my eyes for a minute and knew I had to keep it together. I had to find other survivors. A few came to mind, but since nobody seemed to be successfully evacuating, the chance of finding anyone that was still alive was slim to none. **

**Resting my hands on the railing in front of me, I glanced down at the lower floors and thought I saw a few people running around, so I dedicated the next few minutes to watching them to see if they would make it up to my level. At the same time, I was surprised I wasn't being attacked myself right now. How was this all happening? **

**After five minutes, I watched as an elevator opened on the other side, and when the same trio I had spotted stepped out, I recognized them immediately. **

**"Isaac!" I shouted, waving both my hands, "Isaac! Over here!" The three of them whirled around to face me, and I felt relief wash over me. I was worried they wouldn't make it out of the hospital like I had, but they had managed. **

**I knew it would be impossible to shout over the din, so pressing a button on my communicator, I decided to speak to them that way. Isaac's face appeared, and then the others crowded around him. I slowly remembered the two of them. I knew the girl was Alex, but the young man…was he the same Timmy from the pictures? **

**"**_**Who are you?**_**" Isaac demanded, and I exhaled quietly. I had prepared myself for a reaction like this. **

**"It's the drugs, Isaac!" I explained to him, "They gave us drugs to make us forget! But it's all coming back!" **

**"**_**I don't know what you're talking about!**_**" Isaac snapped, "**_**Why are you calling us?**_**" **

**"It's true!" I insisted, "Ask her! She helped them do it!" I pointed at Alex. **

**"**_**What is he talking about?" **_**Timmy asked, facing the girl next to him. **

**"**_**I didn't drug anybody!**_**" Alex snapped in response, "**_**I just gave you medication! Anti-psychotic pills!" **_

**"Those were not just anti-psychotic pills," I told her, and she seemed horrified and angry. **

**"Isaac!" I shouted, noticing as another Necromorph leaped up to their height, "All of you! Look out!" And as I heard Isaac use his Plasma Cutter to hold off the Necromorphs, I turned and ran. I would have to find another opportunity to get in touch with them. I hoped Isaac would remember me soon. He just had to! Especially now that the drugs were wearing off. **

* * *

I had to admit that this situation was getting more serious than I thought. As we continued through the dark hallways, all I could think about was that man who had contacted us a few minutes ago. The same one from the hospital. Patient Five, who seemed to recognize Alex as well. Was that Nolan Stross? After watching Johnson's video and then encountering the man twice, I was sure of it.

I could tell Alex was angry because of the accusations Nolan had thrown at her. Her jaw was clenched and her hands were balled into fists. "Alex?" Isaac began as we moved on, "What did he mean by, 'you helped them do it'?"

"I don't know what he was talking about!" Alex snapped, "I was just being an intern and carrying out my job! No drugs except for the prescribed medications!"

"And you didn't bother to ask about it?"

"I was an intern, Isaac! Interns don't ask questions! It's some…unwritten law or something, I don't know!"

"You really didn't know?" I asked, facing Alex. I wasn't sure what to believe, but she was my friend and I wanted to trust her. At the same time, though, after being lied to and betrayed so many times on the _Ishimura, _I didn't know.

"No," Alex choked, "I swear I didn't! Please, believe me!" She glanced from me to Isaac, and after a minute or two, we both sighed.

"All right," Isaac decided, "I guess you're just shaken over the accusations. Let's keep going." We continued on our way, dismembering more Necromorphs as we got caught up in a quarantine not unlike the ones on the _Ishimura._ Once that was finished, we boarded an elevator in the corner and began to ride it down to one of the lower levels. Along the way, Isaac decided to contact Daina.

"There are Necromorphs everywhere," he reported, "Is the entire _Sprawl _infected? How did this happen? Timmy and I destroyed the Marker, Daina! We _destroyed _it!"

"_You two destroyed A Marker,_" Daina corrected, emphasizing "A", "_Tiedemann built another one._"

"God damn it," I cursed, "So all that trouble we went through on Aegis 7 was for nothing? Is that what you're saying?"

"He built it on this station?" Isaac added, "Why?"

"_It's powerful alien technology. Tiedemann wants that power. Get to the tram; it'll take you to the Cassini Towers Tram Station._"

"Daina?" Isaac asked as the transmission began to experience static, "Damn it."

"So basically, we went through hell and back for nothing, and Hammond and Kyne died in vain," I grumbled to the others, "What was the point, then, huh?"

"We tried," Isaac replied, "Just not hard enough, I'm afraid. But we have to beat this. We have to get out alive."

"And we will," I declared, turning around as I caught Alex staring at one of the screens advertising Unitology.

"Alex?" I asked, "Are you coming?"

Tearing her gaze away from the screen, Alex faced us. "Yeah," she said, "I'm coming." And with that, we continued on our way.

* * *

_The next area we entered was quiet, but as soon as Timmy, Alex, and I moved forward, a horde of Necromorphs popped out of all the vents to attack us. Working together, we all used our Plasma Cutters to take them out, and Timmy and Alex were getting better with wielding the tools they had bought. Most of the Necromorphs were Slashers, but we noticed as soon as the killing spree was over that the quarantine still hadn't been lifted. _

_Roar! "What was that?" Alex whispered in a shaky voice, which had to be more than just the creepy noise. I could tell she was still shaken over the conversation from before. _

_The Necromorph roared again, and I froze as I remembered what it was. "Oh, no," I mumbled under my breath. _

_"Is that what I think it is?" Timmy piped up from next to me just as a few Exploders appeared out of the broken vents. _

_"Yes!" I exclaimed, shooting the yellow pods on the Exploders and causing them to blow each other up. _

_"Damn, I thought those things were gone!" Timmy gasped. _

_"Doesn't seem like it," I replied just as the quarantine ended and we continued on our way into the Tram Station. Just as we were reloading our Plasma Cutters, I suddenly heard a voice. _

_"Isaac? Are you there?" it asked, "I'm so cold." _

_"Nicole," I whispered under my breath, and Timmy and Alex glanced at me again. _

_"The needle is burning in my arm," Nicole replied, "Isaac? Where are you? The room is getting dark. I can't see you. Isaac?"_

_"Nicole!" I cried a little more insistently, dashing up the ramp in front of us. _

_"Isaac!" Timmy shouted, "Wait up!" He and Alex ran after me, with Alex limping slightly, but I ignored them as I laid my eyes on Nicole once again, just like I had in the elevator. She was covered in blood and sitting on one of the benches, and I immediately stopped running as I approached her. She glanced up at me just as a burning tram passed by. What was real and what wasn't? _

_"Isaac!" Alex cried, shaking me, "Are you okay?" _

_"Did you just see that burning tram?" Timmy added. _

_"Y-yeah," I replied as the image of Nicole disappeared, "I also saw Nicole again." The two of them sighed as we continued on our way._


	5. Answers to Mysteries

All right! I know I said I would update this on the weekend, but since my classes were cancelled today due to the crazy snow, I decided to work on the next chapter and update it! Thanks again to everyone who read, reviewed, favorite, and alerted so far!

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy and Alex are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions, announcements

* * *

All we could hear for the next minute or so was the sound of wires sparking as Isaac hacked into the main frame on the tram we were in. We had all been getting a bad feeling about this tram just after watching a burning train rush through the station, but we knew we had to get to the Cassini Towers…whatever those were.

"Almost got it," Isaac announced, "Just a little more hacking and…done!"

As he said that, the tram suddenly lurched forward and began to move, causing us to stumble. Fortunately, we grabbed on to the metal poles next to us before we could land flat on our faces, and we wondered why the door leading to the next car up ahead wasn't opening right away. As soon as one of the windows burst open again, we saw why: a Slasher had entered the car. With a snarl, it approached us, and between the three of us, our Plasma Cutters managed to bring it down. Although I still wasn't as good with the Plasma Cutter as I had been with the flamethrower, I was getting better slowly.

"_Now approaching Cassini Towers tram station,_" a voice announced, "_Please remain seated while the tram is in motion._"

But before we could sit down, some more Necromorphs jumped into the tram, which we had to dismember as well before the door up ahead finally unlocked. "I wonder where that guy from before went," Isaac said to us as we moved into the next car.

I realized he was referring to Nolan. "Who cares?" Alex piped up before I could reply, "The elevator clearly doesn't go all the way upstairs for him." She said this in a vicious tone of voice, which made me curious, as well as surprised to hear her speak like this.

"Why are you getting so defensive over this?" I asked after we dismembered more Necromorphs, "We already know you didn't mean to drug him. You don't have to tell us twice."

Alex took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, you guys," she apologized, "But I hate it when I'm accused of doing something I didn't do. I really do."

We didn't comment on it any further as we continued on our way. We continued to sprint through the tram as we killed even more Necromorphs. At one point, however, the doors opened to reveal that the train had broken in half, and the other one was far away. "Now what?" I shouted over the loud gusts of wind.

"Just follow my lead!" Isaac yelled in response as he kicked up from the ground and began to use his gravity boots in order to fly towards the other car.

"Are you kidding me?" Alex shrieked.

"We've got no choice!" I replied back, "Come on!" The two of us began to follow Isaac, feeling awkward the whole time as we flew in the air. Up ahead, Isaac was accelerating, so after fumbling in order to figure out how to do the same, Alex and I followed suit. With a bang, the tram began to rock up ahead, and reaching out with one of his hands, Isaac grabbed for the safety railing on the outside.

"Timmy!" he shouted to me, holding out his other hand, "Grab on!"

Just as I was reaching to grab his hand, I suddenly felt someone smack my arm, and in confusion, I looked around. It couldn't have been Isaac or Alex; they were right here. Shaking my head, I stretched my hand out again, but then, out of nowhere, I felt a hand cover my mouth and another grab my outstretched arm.

"No!" I cried, "Get off me! Get off!" I closed my eyes as I tried to fend off my attacker.

"Timmy, look out!" Alex shouted just as she grabbed me and pulled me out of the way of an oncoming beam over my head.

The person who had grabbed me, however, wouldn't let up, and when I opened my eyes again, a familiar face greeted me.

"_Still avoiding your fate, Phase Two?_" Challus Mercer taunted as he smirked at me.

"TIMMY!" Isaac snapped from in front of me, and when I blinked, Mercer just grinned and disappeared, and glancing ahead of me again, I finally managed to grab on to Isaac's hand at last while Alex reached for my other hand. Through our combined efforts, we managed to fight against the wind around us as we pulled ourselves into the tram car. Up ahead, an Exploder jumped into the tram, and with one shot from Isaac's Plasma Cutter, it was gone. After that, a Slasher appeared, which we took care of as well.

"Are you okay, Timmy?" Isaac shouted over the din, "What the hell happened back there?"

Glancing down at my Plasma Cutter for a minute, I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute. How could I explain what had happened? Was I slowly losing my mind as well? Daina had said my signal wasn't as strong as Isaac's, but was it getting stronger every minute? The idea, as well as Mercer invading my mind once again, scared me.

"I…I saw something," I stammered, but before I could explain any further, the next door opened with a loud hiss, and all three of us suddenly lost our footing. Isaac grabbed another metal pole, but soon lost his grip and fell to the ground as well. Alex and I fell down next to him and began to slide through the next few doors.

"AHHHH!" we all screamed as we picked up speed across the floor, holding on to each other as each door opened consecutively. Behind me, I could hear Alex scream as we slid past a few Necromorphs who were lunging at us with their blades. We tried to shoot at them, but all the Plasma Energy just went to waste.

With another jolt, Alex and I flew out of the other end of the tram, sailing in the air for a few seconds before hitting the concrete ground below. Dust blew all around us as we picked ourselves up from the ground. Coughing, I waved some dust away as I ran over to Alex. "Alex!" I cried, "Alex, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Alex replied, coughing and picking herself up, "Damn, that was intense!"

"Tell me about it," I agreed, looking around, "Wait, where's Isaac?"

"Help!" a voice suddenly cried, and when we whirled around, we spotted Isaac dangling upside down by a cable from the bottom of the tram.

"Oh, my God!" Alex petitioned as we ran over to him.

"Are you okay?" I repeated to him.

"I will be when my head's the right way," Isaac replied, and I couldn't help but catch the double meaning in those words.

"How are we going to get you down from there?" I asked.

"Let's cut him down with the Plasma Cutter," Alex suggested, raising her weapon up to Isaac's level when he suddenly pointed behind us.

"Timmy, Alex, behind you!" he cried, and raising his Plasma Cutter, he aimed it upside down as he began to dismember the onslaught of Necromorphs. Alex and I helped out, too, all while we tried to figure out how to get Isaac down to our level…and not in a position to suffer a blood rush.

We all took significant damage in the process, but once all the Necromorphs were gone, we suddenly felt the entire room vibrate, and when we turned around, we noticed a much bigger Necromorph standing in the tram and glancing down at Isaac. A Brute!

"Shit!" I cursed, and raising his Plasma Cutter, Isaac shot at the hulking Necromorph, which roared, swung one of its claws, and effectively cut the cable the engineer was dangling on. He fell to the ground with a thud, and Alex and I ran over to him to help him up.

_Boom! _All around us, suitcases from the tram car began to fall to the ground, and up above, the tram itself was swinging precariously back and forth. "Oh, _shit_!" Isaac cursed as well, and scrambling to his feet, "Move! Get out of the way!" Shoving us along, he guided us away from the collapsing tram, and from behind us, we heard the train crash to the ground.

"Holy crap!" I gasped as we covered our heads and continued to make a run for it. As soon as we were well out of harm's way, we watched as the tram exploded and emitted a bright light.

"Fuck," Isaac hissed under his breath, "Is everyone all right?"

Alex and I took a deep breath. "We're all right," Alex assured him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Isaac replied as he got in touch with Daina again, "Daina? We need a new route."

"_What happened?_" Daina cried, "_I thought we lost all of you!_"

"Unscheduled stop," Isaac replied, "Where are we?"

"_How did you end up there? Hang on. This won't be the most pleasant route, but it'll get you to the Cassini Towers residential suite._"

"That's what you said last time," I piped up, "And look where we ended up! Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"_Hey, you're the ones that need help, not me, so I suggest you hold your tongue._"

"And _I _suggest that _you _give us better directions next time!"

"Hey hey hey!" Isaac cut in, waving his hands while Alex looked on in anticipation, "Jesus. You two sound like Kendra and Hammond right now!"

"Sorry, Isaac," I apologized.

"_Let me remind you of something, Timmy,_" Daina began from her end, "_I didn't have to choose to help any of you again. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be stuck in that hospital._"

"Yeah?" I challenged, "Well, I think your method of helping us _sucks._"

Before Daina could reply, we suddenly heard a beeping noise. "_Damn it!_" she cursed, "_Tiedemann has your signal again. Keep moving! You're very important to them, Isaac…Hold tight, I'll contact you soon!_"

"Okay," Isaac responded before hanging up.

"Sheesh, Timmy," Alex mused as we continued on their way, "No need to be so brutal."

* * *

A little while later, we had emerged into a room filled with different colored lights, and the first thing we noticed on the walls were drawings of babies. "Oh, no," Alex moaned under her breath.

"What's the matter?" Isaac asked.

"This is the primary school," Alex reported breathlessly.

We all bowed our heads in sadness for a minute, and even more so when we suddenly heard a high-pitched _screech _from one of the side rooms. Readying our Plasma Cutters (and Isaac holding up his new Pulse Rifle), we braced ourselves for another siege, and when we turned around, we saw what it was.

"Oh my God," I petitioned under my breath, "Don't tell me…little kids were infected, too?" I instantly thought of my two brothers as I said this and felt my heart sink. Thank God they weren't here right now.

Alex sighed as she used her Plasma Cutter to put these poor kids out of their misery. Next to us, Isaac seemed to be feeling the same way. It was one thing for adults to become Necromorphs, but children? I didn't know if I could take this anymore.

They seemed to travel in Packs, and as soon as Alex and I found ourselves being overwhelmed, Isaac suddenly stepped in and used the Pulse Rifle, which was clearly more of a crowd-control weapon than the Plasma Cutter.

Once the Pack was down, we all reloaded our weapons and ran around collecting the items that the Pack had dropped, and none of us could find anything to say. Kid Necromorphs? This was insane! This whole situation was fucked up.

Just as we were getting ready to move on, a video log popped up in front of us, and a familiar face greeted us. "You again!" Alex cried, pointing at the video.

"_Isaac!_" Nolan began, looking around nervously, "_Isaac, you still alive?_"

"Somehow," Isaac replied.

"_We can't talk long,_" Nolan whispered, "_I think they're tracking our signals!_" We were silent until Nolan spoke up again.

"_Are the memories coming back to you?_" he asked Isaac, "_They're coming back to me! The good ones…ow!_" He clutched his head.

"Take it easy, man," I chided him, "You don't want to short-circuit your brain."

Nolan shook his head and continued ranting. "_T-the bad ones,_" he stammered, "_The more I remember, the more my head hurts. I keep seeing the symbols…Do you see the symbols, too, Isaac? And him…I keep seeing his face…_"

"Who's face?" Isaac asked while Alex silently fumed next to me, "And what symbols?"

There was suddenly a burst of static as Nolan widened his eyes and faced us. "_Ah, shit,_" he cursed, "_They've found me._" And with that, he was gone.

"O…kay?" Isaac said as he typed something into the Save Station next to us.

"He reminds me of Terrence Kyne," I commented as we continued on our way, "A _lot_."

"Terrence Kyne," Isaac echoed, shaking his head, "I remember him."

"_We must return the Marker to the colony below!_" I intoned, quoting the good doctor when we had been on the _Ishimura _with him, "If only he could see the _Sprawl _now. He would be horrified." Alex shook her head just as the doors to the elevator we had been in opened up, and we entered the upper level. Up ahead, a Necromorph from the Pack leaped over the edge of the railing.

"Hey, Daina?" Isaac said into his communicator, "There's this crazy guy that keeps contacting us. We saw him back at the hospital."

"_Nolan Stross,_" Daina explained, "_He was a patient in the project, just like you._"

"Yeah? Why was he there? What does he want?"

"_He's a psychopath, you three. Stay clear of him. He murdered his own wife and child._"

"Okay, we'll be careful," Isaac assured her, and Daina went offline.

"Nolan Stross, a murderer?" I said to the others as we continued onwards, "I just can't picture him killing anyone."

"It's pretty horrible, what he did," Alex said to us, "I told you the elevator didn't go all the way upstairs."

"But why would he murder his family, though?" Isaac piped up.

"It's not like he's going to tell us himself," I surmised, "I guess we'll have to find out."

"Let's keep moving," Isaac suggested, "Although…" He trailed off as he glanced at a few signs advertising Unitology, as well as an image of the infamous Marker.

"What is it?" Alex asked anxiously.

"Nothing," Isaac replied, "Let's go." After hacking into the control panel next to the elevator, the lift suddenly began to work again, and as we climbed in, the engineer decided to get in touch with Miss Daina again.

"Daina?" he asked skeptically, "I thought you were routing us to residential. This looks like a…Unitology recruitment center. Are we still on track?" Alex and I both picked up on the slightly nasty emphasis on _Unitology,_ and I instantly remembered why.

"_Yes,_" Daina replied, "_There's an old maintenance access point in there that will take you through the waste disposal system and into the Cassini Towers. Stay sharp._" She signed off before we could say anything, and as the doors up ahead open, we suddenly heard an audio advertisement for Unitology.

"_Have you ever felt like you were meant to be part of something bigger?"_ a woman's voice asked, "_Then maybe Unitology is for you. Founded two hundred years ago by our savior, Michael Altman, Unitologists believe that one day, all mankind will be united through the power of a sacred artifact known as the Marker. We call this process Convergence. Imagine it. All mankind, brought together. With one purpose. With one mind. With one soul. No war. No fear. No hate. If that sounds like an ideal world to you, then look no further. Convergence is coming. And Unitology…is helping it happen._" Isaac and I both scoffed.

"Yeah, no thanks, lady!" I shouted back to the advertisement, "I'd like to keep my mind."

"That makes two of us," Isaac agreed.

"Why don't either of you like Unitology?" Alex asked, "I'm not trying to be a pain. I'm just curious."

I glanced at Isaac as I remembered the story he had told me back on the _Ishimura._ "They forced me and my mother to go through rough times financially. My mother joined the Church after my father went away on an extended off-world tour, and she eventually purchased a vested-level title with the Church and I couldn't go to my first choice engineering school. If they hadn't asked for so much money, maybe she wouldn't have sold off everything we had." There was more to the story, I remembered, but there wasn't a lot of time to explain everything.

Alex nodded and faced me next. "Timmy?" she asked.

"Remember when Daina mentioned…_Challus Mercer_?" I replied, bitterness creeping into my voice, "He was a Unitologist who forced me to be a part of his experiments that involved turning still-living humans into Necromorphs. He was a fucking psychopath, Alex! All the Unitologists on that ship were." She just nodded.

"Why are you so curious about that, anyway?" Isaac asked.

Alex shrugged. "No reason," was all she said, "You both had this hatred in your voices and I wanted to know."

"Well, those are our stories," I said to her, "What about you? How do you feel about Unitology? You haven't told us too much about yourself, even over the last three months."

Alex took a deep breath, but before she could answer, we suddenly spotted a few Necromorphs up ahead. Using his Plasma Cutter, Isaac blew up the Exploder that was among them…and sent us into another decompressions stage.

"AHH!" Alex screamed as we tried to hold on to each other for dear life. Isaac switched his Plasma Cutter to the switch above the gate and shot it, ending the minor decompression period.

As we fought off another Pack, Alex decided to answer the question we had asked her before. "I'm neutral as far as Unitology goes," she explained, "Although they've tried to recruit us so many times. My parents never bought into that, and I always felt indifferent."

"Why are you limping on one of your legs?" Isaac asked once the siege was over.

Alex took another deep breath. "I broke my ankle when I was seven," she continued to explain, "And through malpractice, it never healed properly. Sure, I had a cast, but the bone never healed correctly, so I have a limp." She didn't explain any further than that.

* * *

_**A while later…**_

"_Entering zero-gravity,_" a voice announced once we entered the waste disposal.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked after hearing the story behind Alex's now lame leg.

"I'll be fine," she replied, "Now how do we get through here?"

Kicking up from the ground with his gravity boots, Isaac shouted, "Follow me!"

"W-whoa!" Alex gasped as she floated around the chamber, "This is so awkward!"

"Isn't it awesome?" I asked her, grinning. It was pretty cool how this time, we could roam wherever we wanted instead of just jumping from point to point. I had to admit I got a little carried away in the moment; while the three of us tried to find our way, I began twirling around and flipping upside down in the air. I felt like Superman in that moment. I felt like I could do anything!

Once we were finished opening the waste disposal, we followed Isaac as we traveled through the chamber. "We'll have to move faster if we want to beat the wind!" he shouted to us, "Come on!" We put on a burst of speed as we landed in a side passageway.

The next few passageways were unusually quiet. Whether that was good or bad was a mystery. There were little to no Necromorphs, and the few that we spotted were mostly Swarms.

"Damn," I muttered, "I must have jinxed myself earlier."

Isaac chuckled as he entered a brightly colored room…a child's room, maybe? There was a horse lamp hanging from the ceiling, which was causing the images of horses to revolve around the room. All of a sudden, the engineer stopped and clutched his head.

"Isaac?" Alex asked worriedly from next to me. I shook my head and shushed her as we listened to Isaac speak up.

"No," he muttered, "You're not Nicole. Nicole is dead! You're not really here!" He suddenly stood up straight again and sighed.

"You okay?" I asked him gently.

"Why'd you come back, Timmy?" Isaac suddenly asked as we left the room and continued to run through the compound.

I was surprised at this very forward question. "Why'd I come back?" I echoed, "Because you're my friend and I owe you for saving me on the _Ishimura._" He didn't say anything.

"Besides," I continued, "I feel horrible about what happened last time we arrived on the _Sprawl, _especially after hearing about what they did to you. You don't know how bad I felt every day after that."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Alex scolded, "You didn't know all of this was going to happen."

"True," I agreed, "But still, I made a promise and I broke it. Even if it wasn't on purpose." How could I explain that the game had kicked me out at the wrong time? Nobody would believe me if I said this was all a videogame.

Isaac didn't reply, but we all fell silent as we continued through the dark hallways, which were only lit by a million candles placed around the floors. This was getting very eerie now, and I wondered who placed all these candles here. I remembered Mercer had done the same thing on the _Ishimura._ I shuddered just thinking about it.

When we emerged onto the next level, Alex suddenly turned to the window and gasped. "_Shit!_" she hissed, "Look!" We all glanced over and gasped, too.

"Daina!" Isaac whispered into the communicator, "Tiedemann's soldiers have found us! They're tracking us in some sort of gunship!"

"_You're almost there!_" Daina said encouragingly, "_Hurry_!" We began to tiptoe rapidly around the gunship so that they wouldn't start firing, and we breathed a sigh of relief once we made it to the other side.

"So, Alex," I began, facing Alex, "What do you think of Daina?"

"I think she's just trying to help us, like Isaac said," Alex answered as we continued through the quiet hallways which weren't quiet for long.

For the next couple of minutes, Necromorph after Necromorph poured out from every single direction, which we had to neutralize in order for the gate up ahead to open, which I hoped would be soon. For a minute, I wondered where Nolan Stross was and what he was doing.

Once the "quarantine" was over, we continued to make our way through the ornate hallways, which was looking more and more like Unitology as we progressed. I could tell Isaac was annoyed with having to come here, but it looked like we didn't have a choice.

As soon as we made it outside, we heard a loud _crash, _and then everything went silent around us as the air vented into space. _Oh, shit! _I thought to myself, _What's going on? _

Suddenly, bullets flew past our heads, and we had to duck to avoid them.

"_It's Tiedemann!_" Daina cried frantically, "_He's found all of you! Into the Church! Hurry!_"

It wasn't the most ideal setting, but I'd rather be anywhere else than in Tiedemann's hands, and I knew Isaac and Alex were thinking the same thing, so taking each other's hands, we sprinted through the doors up ahead and watched as they locked behind us. Once the sound was back, we faced each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close," I panted.

"Yeah," Isaac agreed, "We can't let them get us. We just can't."

"Now what?" Alex asked as she pointed all around us, and that was when Isaac and I realized: we were in the Church of Unitology at last.


	6. News of the Worst Kind

Wow, my classes were cancelled again today! So I decided to work on this chapter, too, since I finished all my homework a few days ago! Thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! So far, this was my favorite chapter to write! Enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy and Alex are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **Spoilers! Major spoilers!

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions and Isaac's POV

* * *

"Daina?" Isaac piped up as the three of us glanced around the lobby of the Church, "The Church of Unitology? Why here?"

"Yeah, this doesn't look like any damn Cassini Towers to me," I added in agreement, narrowing my eyes through my helmet.

"_It's one of the few places on the Titan Station that Tiedemann can't monitor,_" Daina explained to us, "_Separation of Church and State._"

"No, Daina," Isaac protested, "We shouldn't be in here. This is the _last _place we want to be right now!"

"_Isaac!_" Daina cried frantically, "_My brother died trying to rescue you!_"

"Who's your brother?" I asked, "Franco?"

"_It doesn't matter!_" Daina snapped, "_This is important. This will work. I'm in a safe room at the top of the Church. Meet me there, okay?_"

"Oh, sure," I responded, "Wait in the safe room while _we _have to put our lives on the line! Where have we heard that before?"

"Timmy," Isaac hissed under his breath, "You're doing it again."

"_Can it, Timmy!_" Daina snarled, "_You're getting on my last nerve!_" I smirked to myself as she signed offline.

"Seriously, Timmy," Alex spoke up, "Stop fighting with Daina! She's just trying to help us! Keep bitching at her, and she won't give Isaac the cure he needs! To be honest, you're being a selfish _jackass _right now for no reason!"

I felt stung by Alex's harsh words. Maybe I _was _being a little selfish in a way, but I had my reasons. Didn't everyone? "I'm not being a _jackass_, as you so sweetly put it," I reasoned, "I just…never mind."

"You just _what_, Timmy?" Alex snapped angrily.

"Let's see," I began, taking my helmet off for a minute as Alex and Isaac did the same, "Daina begins bitching at us the moment we meet her, she gives us routes that nearly lead to our deaths, and she's led us to the Church of Unitology! Don't you think something's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with someone trying to get us out of Tiedemann's hands, huh? Nothing! You're just being paranoid, Timmy. Would you rather be here or at the mercy of Hans Tiedemann?"

"Why aren't we at the Cassini Towers, then? Like we're _supposed _to be?"

"Because she said this was a safer place! Sure, it's not the most ideal setting, but it's safer than being out there!"

"STOP IT!" Isaac suddenly yelled, clapping his hands and forcing us to stop arguing. We both glanced at him.

"_Christ,_" Isaac hissed, "Just stop it, both of you! We're all shaken up here, and the last thing we need to do is argue with each other!"

I took a deep breath and faced Isaac. "Isaac, I'm _sorry,_" I apologized, "But there's something about Daina that I don't like! I just don't want this to end badly!"

"Please, Timmy," Alex piped up, "You're acting like the world is coming to an end!"

Isaac shook his head and closed his eyes for a minute. "I guess I'll have to handle this," he decided, opening his eyes once again, "I'll start with you, Alex."

"_Me?_" Alex shrieked, "I wasn't the one fighting with Daina just now!"

"No," Isaac agreed, "But you did say some things that weren't necessary. Maybe it seems like Timmy's being too paranoid, but he has a good reason to be after what happened on the _Ishimura._ A lot of people we thought were trying to help us actually weren't. That's what you need to understand." Alex just narrowed her eyes, and when Isaac faced me, I knew I was going to get the next talk.

"Now it's your turn," he announced as I folded my arms, "I agree with you about some parts of this mission being suspicious, but I also agree with Alex about Daina. She promised me a cure, and believe me, I don't want to have to deal with this 'sickness' anymore. You don't have to like Daina, as it's clear you don't, but at least trust her. You don't have to mistrust _everyone _we meet all the time. Can you do that for me until I get the cure? As a friend?"

_Friend._ That word did it. I glanced at Alex, who was unclenching her fists and just staring at me. "Friend?" I echoed, "After all the shit you went through and with me breaking my promise, you still consider me your _friend_?"

"I don't know," the engineer replied, shrugging, "I still can't believe you bailed on me."

"I wasn't trying to do it on purpose," I explained to him, "I was trying to go get help!"

Isaac stopped for a minute. "You were?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes!" I insisted, nodding frantically, "Tiedemann's goons told me there was nothing I could do to help you, and that's why I ran off! I was trying to find someone who would listen to us! To you!"

It seemed like Isaac didn't know what to say at first, so instead, he slipped his helmet back on and announced, "We better keep moving so that we can get to Daina. Are you two all set with each other and your differences?"

Alex sighed. "I guess so," she said, shaking hands with me, "I'm sorry I called you a selfish jackass."

"And I'm sorry I was being paranoid," I apologized in turn.

"Whew," Isaac sighed, wiping his forehead, "I never thought I'd be able to do that with this sickness."

"You're not that bad," I assured him as we continued through the Church to the Store up ahead.

"You don't have to be nice, Timmy," Isaac replied, "I _am _that bad. That's why I need this cure."

"Isaac," I began once we were finished at the Store and going through some more hallways, but ended up trailing off when a video log popped up in front of us again.

"_Isaac!_" Nolan Stross gasped, "_Isaac, I know you see the symbols, too! They mean something!_"

All three of us glanced at each other and didn't reply at first. The information Daina had given us on Nolan before resonated with us, and we didn't know what to say at first. We had to be careful with what we said, though; just like with Terrence Kyne, it seemed like Nolan Stross would blow a fuse at us if we refused to listen to him. And he was capable of murder. He was just as dangerous as Kyne was, if not more so.

"_Isaac?"_ Nolan pressed insistently after Isaac didn't react to Nolan's revelation. _Oh, shit, _I thought to myself, _Here we go_.

To all of our surprises, Nolan faced me next. "_T-Timmy,_" he whispered, "_Y-you look like a good guy. You believe me, right?_" I opened my mouth and then closed it again. What could I say without rubbing him the wrong way? And how did he know my name, anyway?

"Stross," Isaac piped up before Nolan could say anything else to me, "Yes, I see the symbols." Did he really? Or was he just trying to get Nolan off my back for now? With the current situation, my bet was on the former.

"_We're a threat to them!_" Nolan announced, "_I know it! We have to work together!_"

"Work together?" Isaac echoed, "Who's 'them'? You mean Tiedemann?"

But Nolan wasn't even paying attention to us anymore. Instead, he was staring down at his nose, which had mysteriously begun to bleed. "Hey, Nolan!" Alex suddenly called out to him, "You may want to get your nose checked out!"

Nolan glanced down at his bloody nose again and began to pace back and forth as he talked to himself. "_Oh, my nose is bleeding? When did that start?_" he asked himself.

"Stross?" Isaac spoke up, "Work with us, Stross!" But Nolan was gone.

"Damn it," Isaac cursed to himself as we continued to explore the Church, "He can't keep doing this to us!"

"Are you sure that's the same psychopath Daina warned us about?" I asked, turning to Alex, "He looks like he's about to jump at his own shadow! Not really killer material." Although there was no denying that Nolan Stross seemed a little bit insane, I still couldn't help but wonder.

"Sometimes," Alex intoned, "The ones you least expect are the most dangerous. That's definitely him."

* * *

_The Church was quiet. As Timmy, Alex, and I looked around all the different rooms, we wondered what both Daina and Nolan's motives were. I knew Daina was trying to help me, but what about Nolan? Was there another reason why Daina wanted us to stay away from him? _

_ "Anymore lit candles and the Church might go up in flames," Alex mused as we tiptoed through another long hallway. _

_ "Would that be such a loss?" Timmy piped up from next to her. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Where'd he come up with these comments? _

_ "Very funny," Alex replied, rolling her eyes as we opened the door ahead of us. On the other side, we could hear screeching, and holding out my new Javelin Gun in front of me, I decided to check it out. To our horror, an Infector was trying to infect a corpse right in front of us, and out of habit, I shot some Javelin Spears at it, dismembering its proboscis and stopping the transformation. _

_ "Thank God that's over," Timmy mused. _

_ "Yeah, but there might be more Necromorphs around here," I replied, "Don't let your guards down. Either of you." _

_ "Never," Timmy retorted, shaking his head. Waving to them, I began to lead us all down the spiral staircase in front of us, and once we were down there, sure enough, we were attacked. These Necromorphs seemed different, though; they were all dressed in Unitology robes, and I had to shake my head to myself as we dismembered all of them. Why the hell did the Unitologists want to become Necromorphs? Or were they even aware that the monsters were their next life? _

_ I suddenly thought about something that I hadn't thought about in a while: how the hell did I end up having to deal with this shit for the last three years? I was just an engineer! I was only trying to repair the _Kellion _and find Nicole, and now, I was dealing with the government shooting at me and coping with my dementia. Words couldn't even begin to describe how fucked up all of this was. _

_ Once all the Necromorphs were down, the three of us continued on our way into a small elevator. On the way up, I reloaded my Pulse Rifle. "How are you feeling, Isaac?" Timmy suddenly asked. _

_ I stared at him in surprise. "What do you mean?" I asked. _

_ "You know," Timmy insisted. Then I realized: he was talking about my dementia. _

_ "I haven't been seeing anything, if that's what you mean," I answered. _

_ "Good," the teenager replied, nodding, "Because that's exactly what I meant." _

_ "About that," I quipped as we entered a room where the same advertisement for Unitology was playing, "I don't want you two worrying about me the whole time." _

_ Both of them seemed surprised. "Why not?" Alex asked incredulously. _

_ "We've got enough to deal with as it is," I told them, "And you two constantly fretting over me is making you anxious. I can tell." _

_ "It's not a bad thing, Isaac," Timmy reasoned, "As your friends, we just want to make sure you're okay." _

_ "And I appreciate your concern. But don't get yourselves killed worrying about me. I'll be fine." _

_ "We're not the ones suffering from dementia, Isaac," Alex reminded me unnecessarily, "You are." _

_ "I know, I know," I said, "But I would never forgive myself if I got anyone else killed." I gasped and covered my mouth in shock. Had I really just said that? I hadn't meant to, but I guessed it was a slip of the tongue. _

_ "What do you mean, 'if you got anyone else killed'?" Timmy demanded fiercely, "Why would you even think something like that about yourself?" _

_ "Forget it," I told him, "You wouldn't understand. Let's just keep moving." Timmy and Alex glanced at each other, and Timmy shrugged as we entered a side room. I figured that we couldn't pass through the locked door up ahead, so after using Kinesis to manipulate some of the control panels, we watched as the door began to open and shut rapidly, leaving us only one choice. _

_ A few more Necromorphs attacked us before I raced forward and used Stasis to slow down the door in front of us. As we crept into the next room, I suddenly began to hear Nicole's voice again as the monitors next to us went static. _

_ "It's so cold, Isaac," she whispered, "It hurts. Where are you going? You can't run from the pain forever. Soon, you'll beg for a way to end it all." With that, she disappeared, and I didn't react. I didn't want Timmy and Alex to panic. We had to stay strong, and we could only do that by remaining calm. _

_ After typing something into the Save Station up ahead, we collected the few items scattered around the storage room before crawling through the vent in front of us. How we all managed to fit was a mystery, but that didn't matter now. We had to keep going. _

_ I was the first one to emerge onto the other side, but as soon as I did, I suddenly felt someone grab me and spin me around as my helmet fell off. "Shit!" I cursed under my breath as I found myself facing Nicole again. She was standing in front of me as she tried to stab me with a syringe. _

_ "No!" I cried, trying to fight her off, and behind me, Timmy and Alex hurriedly climbed out of the vent. _

_ "ISAAC!" they both shouted, but I ignored them; Nicole was still trying to kill me. _

_ "Make us whole!" she whispered. _

_ "You're not real," I said to myself, "You're not real!" The struggle was getting tense now the more she tried to force the syringe into my eye. I had to stay strong. I had to fight back. And fight back I did. _

_ "Oh, shit, Isaac!" Timmy yelled, "Stop! Snap out of it!" The two of them moved in front of me until they were standing next to Nicole. _

_ But Nicole wouldn't let up. When it seemed like she was ready to stab me, I found another strength to fight her off again, and as I heard Timmy and Alex screaming at me, I glanced up as Nicole disappeared, and what I saw next horrified me to no end; nobody had been there at all. _

_ I glanced at my hands, which were clamped around the syringe, and an even more horrifying thought crossed my mind: I had just tried to kill myself! _

_ "Oh my God," I petitioned under my breath as I dropped the needle and stared at my hands in horror. In front of me, Timmy and Alex both removed their helmets and gasped. _

_ "Holy shit," Alex whispered in a shaky voice. Timmy didn't say anything, but instead, he marched towards me, raised a gloved hand, and slapped me square across the face similar to when I had hit him that time back on the _Ishimura.

"_Timmy!" Alex gasped, "What was that for?" _

_ "To make sure Isaac's okay," Timmy replied fiercely, turning his gaze to me, "Are you okay? What the hell just happened?" _

_ What could I say? "I…I don't know," I replied, looking down at my hands again. I was still horrified at what had just happened, and how could I explain myself when I couldn't make sense of anything either? _

_ Timmy's facial expression changed until he was staring at me in sympathy. "You saw Nicole again, didn't you?" he realized. I nodded and closed my eyes for a second, feeling tears start to form, but fisting them away at the same time. _

_ "Come here," Timmy whispered, and moving forward, both he and Alex hugged me and didn't let go for a long time. _

_ "Don't worry, Isaac," Alex added, "We've got your back no matter what." I didn't say anything, but I hugged them back as we all just held each other for the next minute. _

* * *

Whoa. That was all I could think in the next few minutes. Whoa.

Even though I had appeared calm and collected on the outside, inside, I was rattled. Watching Isaac nearly kill himself was one of the scariest things I'd ever seen, much scarier than battling Necromorph after Necromorph. After almost committing suicide due to his dementia, did he really think that Alex and I weren't going to worry about him?

None of us said a word as we continued through the Church. What could we say after that? Alex and Isaac were both shaken as well, but refused to comment.

As soon as we made it to one of the balconies in the Church, a high-pitched growling noise caught our attention, but we were still in shock over Isaac's recent episode that we didn't comment on it. Instead, we wordlessly collected the items all around us and then took the cargo lift down to the floor below us. The screeching got louder, but we ignored it.

"There's the door to the Church," Alex whispered, breaking the silence.

We were just about to go inside when something suddenly broke the door from the other end. "Daina, we're locked out!" Isaac reported, "There's something in the Church! It broke down the door!"

"_Hang on,_" Daina replied, "_I'll try to override all the gates in the area._"

"Okay," I piped up, unable to come up with one of my usual comments. The shock from before still hadn't worn off yet.

_Screech! _What was that? "Hurry!" Isaac hissed, "There's something out here, too!"

"And it doesn't sound friendly, either," I added. Readying our weapons, we crept forward until we heard the feral growls again.

"Shit, shit, shit," Alex hissed under her breath, and as soon as we saw what was making the growling noises.

"Oh, God!" Isaac shouted, "Move! Go back to the door!" The three of us ran and took our places by the door as one of the Necromorphs raced towards us. Before it could get too close, we were already racing to dismember it, as well as the following Necromorphs.

"_Isaac, Timmy, Alex!_" Daina gasped, "_I don't think I can-_"

"Not now!" Isaac snapped, dismembering more Stalkers. For the next couple of minutes, we watched as the gates around us began to open, thanks to Daina, and once all the Stalkers were dead, we decided to contact Daina again.

"Daina?" Isaac whispered, "Daina, are you there?"

"_I can't unlock the elevator,_" Daina reported, "_Can you do anything from your end?_"

"Let me see what I can do."

"_Okay. Once you're through, you three will go through the Funerary Wing of the Church and down into the crypt. It's very important you're not…_" She trailed off there at a burst of static.

"_No_!" Daina snapped, "_NO! EarthGov can't jam us in here! Not in here!_"

"Daina? Daina? Important that I what?" Isaac reloaded his Pulse Rifle and led us over to another control panel, which he proceeded to hack into in order to get the elevator working. For the next several minutes, we continued to go through the Church of Unitology as we made our way into the crypts.

"It's so cold down here," I commented, my Plasma Cutter shaking in my hand.

"Let's huddle together for body heat," Alex suggested, huddling close to us as we made our way down into the crypts. All around us, Necromorphs appeared out of nowhere, which we took care of quickly before moving on to another larger room.

"Daina?" Isaac said into his communicator, "We think we've found the exit, but it's way above us. Gravity controls are locked out. Daina?" No response except for static.

"Fuck," Isaac cursed under his breath.

"Conveniently not answering," I muttered to myself, "How could EarthGov jam us in here? I thought there was Separation of Church and State."

"There is," Isaac replied, "But still, we have to find Daina soon so I can get that cure."

"And we will," Alex said, "We just have to keep our eyes and ears open." We nodded as we continued on our way.

After hacking into the main frame, Isaac eventually managed to turn off the gravity in this section, allowing us to kick up from the ground and pass through some narrow passageways before finally making it up to the level above us. Once we restored gravity to the room, Daina contacted us through a video log.

"_Isaac, Timmy, Alex?"_ she began.

"Nice to see you again, Daina," I piped up, grinning at her.

Ignoring me, she continued. "_Damn it!_' she cursed, "_I think they're jamming our signal with a mobile device. Someone get me the frequency on that jammer! They must have a gunship positioned near the compound!_"

"Now what?" Isaac asked, "Change of plans?"

"_No. If they knew where we were, they would have killed us by now. Shit! Signal's fading. Just follow your locator and hurry!_" She disappeared once again.

We continued to move through the Church, taking in all the decorations around us once again as we passed through more winding hallways. Surprisingly, nobody really said anything the whole time. Perhaps that was the effect Unitology had on people.

As we advanced forward, another Tripod suddenly jumped out of nowhere and grabbed Isaac, dragging him by the foot not unlike the Drag Tentacles from the _Ishimura. _"Look out!" I cried, and taking out his Javelin Gun, Isaac shot at the Tripod once and managed to get it to let go of him. Screeching, it ran away and scaled up the walls.

"At least that beast is gone," Alex mused.

_Screech! _"Not yet," Isaac whispered, "Look!" Another Necromorph suddenly leaped over the railing up above us, and after that, more followed suit.

"The Pack!" I cried in horror. Backing up into a stance where we could get everyone to move in one direction, Alex and I stood behind Isaac as he used the Pulse Rifle to take all of them out.

"Looks like we're going to be here for a while!" Isaac shouted over the noise.

* * *

_**A little while later…**_

"This is it," I sighed to the others after we typed some information into the Save Station just below the location of Daina's safe room. The journey here hadn't been easy. After fighting off the rest of the Pack, Isaac, Alex, and I continued through the Church, with Isaac suffering through another episode along the way.

"Time to get the cure," Isaac replied, and taking a deep breath, we crept up the stairs, but we were surprised at the next turn of events.

As we entered the safe room, Isaac and I removed our helmets, and before we could move, I already spotted one man suddenly grab Isaac out of nowhere, and someone snatched my arm as well. "Whoa, what the fuck?" I gasped as the other man slapped me across the face. The whole time, Daina calmly kept her back to us, and anger suddenly coursed through me.

"Daina!" Isaac cried, struggling in the other man's grip.

"You better explain what's going on _right now_!" I snapped, my distrust towards Daina increasing.

"You're a Unitologist!" Isaac gasped, putting some puzzle pieces together, "Of course you are! Why did we trust you?"

"Well, you didn't have a choice, Isaac," Daina replied in a cold voice, "I told you there was a cure and you came running."

"Why are you doing this?" Isaac demanded, "Why can't everyone just leave me alone, huh?"

Turning around, Daina narrowed her eyes at us. "You're a dangerous secret, Isaac," she explained, "EarthGov won't leave you alone because they're afraid you'll destroy their Marker. After all, you did build it." She smirked as Isaac and I fought against our captors. What did she mean that Isaac built a Marker? I suddenly gained the urge to rip her to pieces. I _knew _there was something I didn't like about her!

"What are you talking about?" Isaac demanded.

"Well, that's why we brought you here," Daina continued, "To build Markers for us. To spread glorious Convergence to the entire galaxy."

"Fuck you, Daina!" I snapped from my restraints as I gave her the middle finger, "I knew there was something wrong with you! What about me, then? Why is EarthGov trying to kill me?"

Smirking, Daina faced me next. "Well, that should be easy, shouldn't it?" she replied, "You're a survivor as well, and you know too much about what happened concerning Aegis 7 and the government. When you ran away after arriving here, they were afraid of you being able to back up all of Isaac's claims, as well as revealing their plans, so naturally…"

"They'd rather see me dead, too," I finished, sighing.

Daina tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully and then turned to face Alex, who had been standing in the entrance of the room silently the whole time. "Well now that that's settled," she began, "We should get going. Thank you for helping to bring them to me, Alex. You've been a big help."

"_What the fuck?_" Isaac and I both gasped as Alex moved to stand next to Daina.

"_Alex?_" I cried, "What is she talking about?"

"Sorry, Timmy," Alex apologized, staring up at me with wide eyes, "But I had to do this."

"What are you talking about?" Isaac demanded, "What the hell is going on?"

"Alex was helping me this whole time," Daina explained, "You see, she was spying on the EarthGov for me in the hospital. I told her to get assigned to your case, Isaac, so that we could get closer to you. And it worked."

"So Nolan was telling the truth, then!" I realized, "You _knew _you were giving them those drugs, didn't you? Why, Alex? Are you a Unitologist like…_her_?" I pointed to Daina as I said this.

Alex didn't say anything, but she glanced at Daina. "_ALEX_!" Isaac yelled at her, "Start talking!"

"Okay, okay, no need to shout!" Alex snapped in response, "Yes, I'm a Unitologist. Daina promised she would help my leg get better, so I chose to work with her in return. Besides, I don't see what's so wrong with Convergence. Maybe if you two got your heads out of the clouds, you would see that Unitology is the new way of life!" I felt like I was being punched in the gut, _especially _after telling her the horrors I had endured with Dr. Mercer, and because of that, I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"You…you don't mean that," I whispered, "You can't _possibly _believe that!"

"What about that story you told us, then?" Isaac fumed, "About your parents not buying into Unitology? Is that why you were so curious about us, then?"

"That was the truth," Alex explained, "But I disagreed with them. I like what Unitology has to offer us. For personal reasons."

"And that's why she became my little helper," Daina piped up, "Isn't it, Alex?" Alex looked away and down at the ground for a second.

"You people are _unbelievable_!" Isaac snapped, struggling to get out of his attacker's grip, "Just give me the fucking cure and let us go!"

Daina sauntered towards Isaac while Alex raised her Plasma Cutter to my head, just in case I tried to attack Daina. "Oh, we don't want to cure you, Isaac," she purred, stroking his chin, "We need that precious little head of yours just the way it is." I watched as Isaac whipped his head to the side and glared at both Daina and Alex. I glanced at the latter, who just stared at me in return. Her facial expression changed, as if she wanted to speak up, but then thought better of it.

"There is no cure," I realized, "Is there?"

Daina faced me again. "You're clever, aren't you?" she asked sarcastically.

"I trust my instincts," I snarled in response, "And they didn't like you from the start."

"Well, you don't have to worry now, Timmy," Daina assured me as she moved close to me, "We'll take care of Isaac for you. You don't have to fret over him anymore." I just glared at her and watched as she turned her back to us and began talking to Alex and the two men.

"Now, would you escort Isaac and Timmy to the shuttle and put them in stasis?" she ordered, stopping to face us, "The last thing we want is for them to die." I opened my mouth to ask why I was being dragged away, since I hadn't helped to build the Marker, but it seemed that Daina already read my mind.

"Yes, we're taking you too, Timmy," she said, "You've proven to be a loudmouth. Why not put your voice to good use to spread Altman's word? You two can work side by side."

"No!" Isaac shouted, "Leave him out of this! He's just a kid!"

"Sorry, Timmy," Alex apologized again, "But it's all part of the plan."

"Alex!" I yelled at her as the men tried to lead the two of us away, "You _know _this is wrong! Please! Tell them to stop!"

"She can't help you now," Daina growled, "Now get them to the shuttle. We don't have all day."

But just as they were about to take us away, the big gunship we had seen before suddenly came into view and began to shoot at us, smashing the window in the corner of the room. "Oh, shit!" I cursed, "Isaac, look out!"

By the window, Daina screamed as a few of the bullets hit her in the chest, killing her instantly. I then glanced at Alex, who was grabbing her Plasma Cutter as she got up to run. One of the turret guns on the EarthGov ship began shooting at her, and she covered her head as she ran.

"ALEX!" Isaac and I shouted at her, but as she was heading out the door we had come through, we saw a bullet fly in her direction as she disappeared.

"Oh!" my captor gasped as a shower of bullets reached him, and he let go of me as his body flew out the large window. Slipping my helmet back on, I watched as Isaac fought with the man that was holding him back as the other accomplice eventually flew out the window as well. The engineer also put his helmet back on.

"Isaac!" I shouted as we fell to the ground, avoiding the bullets that the EarthGov was shooting at us. We tried to hold on, but we found ourselves sliding towards the window. And rapidly, too.

With a grunt, Isaac grabbed onto the railing in the corner, but I found myself still sliding towards the window. "AHH!" I screamed, "NO!"

Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw Isaac reach out and grab my hand. "I've got you, Timmy!" he yelled over the loud noises, "Just hold on tight!" I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut, my heart pounding in my chest as my life flashed before my eyes. _Holy shit! _I thought, _What the fuck just happened?_

Isaac managed to leap back to the ground, pulling me along in the process, as he opened a vent in the floor and fell through, dragging me down with him. We screamed as we fell down the chute before hitting the ground. And hard, too.

Panting, Isaac shook his head and picked himself up. "Are you all right?" he asked me.

"No," I sighed, "Are you?"

Before Isaac could reply, we suddenly heard a loud, familiar roar, and when we looked up, we spotted a Tormentor approaching us and roaring at us. "Oh, _shit!_" I cursed, "Move, Isaac! GO!"

Isaac whipped out the Javelin Gun and began shooting at the yellow pods on the Tormentor's arms as it screeched again and picked him up. Screaming, Isaac aimed the Javelin Gun again and shot a few more times, and roaring in pain once again, the Tormentor picked us both up and tossed us across the room.

"No time to celebrate," Isaac muttered as the Tormentor began plowing towards us, "Run!" Using Kinesis to open the door up ahead, he pushed me along as we ran, and I constantly glanced over my shoulder as I watched the Tormentor.

Suddenly, Isaac skidded to a stop. "EarthGov!" he shouted as the big gunship came into view again, "Get down!" He grabbed me and pulled me down to the ground as the Earth Government began shooting at us again.

"Holy _shit!_" I screamed as a few bullets came very close to striking us. As the glass broke around us, we found ourselves sliding towards open space as the Brute charged again. We tried to hold on, but the force was too much, and once the Tormentor crashed through the window, we held on to each other as we were blown into the vacuum of space as well. I didn't let go of Isaac for a second as we crashed onto the outside of the EarthGov ship, and we watched in horror as the Tormentor also landed there as well. It was then that I remembered that Necromorphs didn't need oxygen like we did. The hulking Necromorph swiped at us, and I followed Isaac as he jumped away from the ship and shot at it, causing it to explode, along with the Tormentor. All I could see for the next few seconds was white light, and I grabbed onto Isaac once again as we went tumbling through space. Suddenly, I felt glass break around us, and as the air reappeared, Isaac and I tumbled until we landed back inside the _Sprawl _once more. Coughing and sputtering, we nursed our injuries as we stood back up and looked around. Somehow, we were still alive.

"Jesus Christ," I panted as I clutched my throbbing head, "Are you all right, Isaac?"

"I'm fine," Isaac confirmed, wincing from some apparent pain in his chest, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," I answered, "Damn, we just lived through all that?"

"Looks like it," Isaac replied, "Holy shit, I can't believe we survived. Looks like it's just us again, huh?"

"Yeah," I agreed, "So if I understand correctly, Daina's a Unitologist who wanted us to herself, and Alex is a Unitologist who was working with her, who may or may not be dead after that. God…_damn._"

"That sounds about right," Isaac grunted, "I can't believe she tricked us!"

"I can," I fumed, "She was always sketchy. Now, how do we get out of here?"

"I think the better question is, what do we do now?" Isaac corrected, and as we were about to rest and come up with a plan, a video log popped up in front of us, and Nolan Stross appeared again.

"_Isaac!_" Nolan began, "_Timmy, are you there? Can you hear me?_"

"Loud and clear, Nolan," I replied, clutching my head again.

"What do you want, Stross?" Isaac asked, "Look, it's over. All our plans just blew out the window."

"_No, no, no, NO!_" Nolan insisted, "_It's not over. At least, not yet. Isaac. Isaac, we built it. We can tear it down! You can help, too, Timmy._"

"You mean the Marker?" Isaac questioned, "Do you know where the Marker is, Stross?"

"_It's…it's in the Government Sector! The Government Sector! But we have to move now! Now! Now, now, NOW! Because time is running out for me…us._"

"Stross!" Isaac yelled, "Stross! Where are you going? Shit!" Nolan went offline from there.

"We've got to find him!" I declared, "And fast!"


	7. Discovering the Unthinkable

Next chapter of _Dead Space: Forgotten Memories _is here! Thanks again for all the support! I appreciate it! I'm nearly halfway through the game in this story at this point. WOOHOO! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA. Once again, the name "James" is mine, but the actual character isn't.

**WARNING: **Spoilers!

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions, Announcements, and Isaac's POV

**Bold- **Stross's POV

**

* * *

**

**Was I always this lost before the project? **

**I contemplated this question as I staggered around the quiet area I was in, scratching my bandaged elbows in the process. I never did figure out why my nose had been bleeding before, but I knew it couldn't be for a good reason. Nothing ever was. **

**My head continued to throb as memories slowly returned to me. Steps. Something about steps. But what? I had to get back in touch with Isaac and Timmy. I had to tell them what I remembered. Good thing Alex wasn't with them anymore; she wasn't very nice anyway. I had called her out on what she did and she knew it. But back to the matter at hand… **

**I suddenly perked up as if a light bulb had gone off in my head. Reaching for my communicator, I decided to get in touch with Isaac and Timmy again. "Isaac!" I began, "They were afraid of us after the sessions! I remember! They took us to the machine! For our sessions! For the steps!" **

**"**_**Machine?**_**" Timmy asked with dread in his voice, "**_**What machine?**_**" **

**"**_**I don't remember any sessions,**_**" Isaac added. **

**"You're lucky you don't remember," I assured him, "When you do, **_**he **_**starts coming back." **

**"**_**Who?**_**" Isaac asked, "**_**Who keeps coming back? Who?**_**" **

**I ignored his question and faced Timmy, who was cocking his head to the side. "**_**Why don't you try going for the non cryptic answers instead?**_**" the teen suggested, "**_**It'll make sense to us even more if you do, Nolan.**_**" **

**Oh, no. No, no, no! This wasn't happening. This **_**couldn't **_**happen! Timmy was too good for this. "Y-you're a good guy, Timmy," I told him, "I-I know it. I see it. Don't become like them." **

**"**_**What are you talking about?**_**" Timmy asked, confused, but before I could reply, I suddenly heard another voice. **

**"**_**Daddy**_**?" it asked, and turning away from the others, I widened my eyes as I watched my son, James, amble towards me. He looked to be about five at this point. **

**"**_**Was it something I said?**_**" I heard Timmy ask from far away, but I ignored him as I felt happy that my son was here. **

**"Oh, look at you!" I sighed as James smiled at me, "You've grown up so much!" **

**"**_**Come on, Daddy!**_**" James replied, "**_**I want to play tag! You're it!**_**" Giggling, he took off down the hallway. **

**"Where are you going?" I called after him. **

**"**_**Stross, don't follow him!**_**" Isaac warned, "**_**He's not really there!**_**" I shut off the video log as I continued to chase after my son. How had he ended up here? Whatever the answer was, I didn't care. I just wanted to hold him again. **

**As I chased my son, I watched as he cut corners and disappeared, so I did the same. Along the way, however, I began to hear voices again. "**_**Nolan,**_**" a woman whispered, "**_**Nolan.**_**" **

**"**_**Hurry up, Daddy!**_**" James cried, "**_**You're almost there!**_**" **

_**"Come on, Stross!**_**" another voice suddenly snapped out of nowhere, "**_**Stross!**_**" **

**"**_**Nolan!**_**" **

**"**_**Daddy!**_**" **

**"**_**STROSS!**_**" **

**"Oh, fuck it!" I cursed out loud as my head hurt even more now. Crouching down to the ground, I pressed my hands against my temples to try and suppress the pain, which only seemed to be getting worse every minute. I took deep breaths while I tried to regain myself. James. Where was James? **

**"**_**This way, Daddy,**_**" my son whispered, and when I opened my eyes, I gasped at the place he wanted me to go to. Isaac and Timmy needed to know about this. **_**Now! **_

_**

* * *

**_

"Don't become like them," I whispered under my breath as Isaac and I continued on our way, "What was he talking about?" I couldn't stop thinking about Nolan's comment from when he had contacted us.

"He must have misinterpreted your attitude before," Isaac reasoned as we plowed our way through the horde of Necromorphs in front of us, "He's not exactly familiar with your honest personality."

I laughed harshly. "Honest?" I echoed, "I was just trying to get him to come out of his shell a little bit. Who do you think he was talking to before?"

"It might have been his son," Isaac replied after killing another Pregnant, "The one that he…"

"Murdered," I whispered under my breath in understanding, sighing wistfully. The thought that anyone would even think of murdering a child bothered me to no end. Maybe it was because I had two younger brothers of my own.

"Looks like it's just the three of us now," I replied once we were finished with the Necromorphs and taking care of business at the Store, "I wonder what happened to Alex. Did that bullet get her?"

"I don't know," Isaac retorted, "And I don't care. She was a liar, just like Daina!"

I sighed again as I thought about Alex. She had been so nice to me when I first returned to the _Sprawl._ Why had she lied this whole time?

"Well, at least the whole issue with Nolan was settled," I said in a wry tone of voice, "He may be a little crazy, but he's not stupid."

"That's for sure," Isaac replied, "Let's keep going." We continued to run through the next few hallways until we encountered a room full of fire, as well as no gravity.

"_Warning,_" a voice warned, "_Fire suppression system malfunction. Please manually deplete the oxygen supply to contain the fire. Non-essential personnel should leave the area at once._"

"I bet that's us, isn't it?" I joked as Isaac and I flew into the air and picked up some loose items before studying the room.

"Isn't it always?" Isaac joked back as we flew around the room and studied all the batteries that seemed to be what were powering the oxygen in the first place. It was nice to see Isaac slowly returning to the person I had met back on the _Ishimura. _Maybe he wasn't completely gone.

"If we pull all these batteries out," Isaac mused to himself, "We should be able to get rid of the oxygen and put out the fire."

"That's what I was thinking, too," I replied, "Let's try that." And flying around once more, I watched as Isaac pulled out all three batteries, and in front of us, the fire slowly died down as the room turned into a vacuum.

Gesturing with a gloved hand, Isaac ushered me through the next area, where he killed a few Lurkers that were blocking our path, and once we made it into the next room, we realized we were going to need one of the batteries from the oxygen-deprived room. "Wait here," Isaac said to me, "I'll be right back." Nodding, I watched as he ventured back out into the vacuum, and I hugged myself and rocked back and forth slightly. Over the next minute or so, I thought I suddenly heard a familiar voice, and I shut my eyes to make it go away.

"_Why are you trying to shut me out, Timothy?_" Challus Mercer whispered into my ear, "_I told you I would never be dead to you. I'll always be alive in your mind._"

"Shut up, Mercer," I hissed under my breath, "You're not real. You're not real!" Was this how Isaac felt during one of his episodes, even though they were much worse than mine?

"_But I am,_" the madman replied, "_What are you trying to prove by attempting to make me disappear? You called me a madman on the _Ishimura, _but you seem to be going down the same path as the engineer. You're just like him now._"

"I'm not listening to you!" I snapped, squeezing my eyes shut tight even more.

Suddenly, I felt someone grabbed my injured arm, and a cold feeling passed over me. Screaming in pain, I tried to get the hand off of me, but it wouldn't let up. "Mother…_fucker_!" I hissed, "I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy!"

"_Keep telling yourself that,_" Mercer replied, "_We both know you're lying to yourself._"

"Go away!" I snapped, still refusing to open my eyes, and all I could hear in response was a chuckle.

"_I think you've had enough,_" Mercer decided, taking two of his fingers and pressing them painfully into the scars on my arms, "_I'll be back, Phase Two._" As soon as he was gone, the cold sensation disappeared as well, and shaking from head to toe, I opened my eyes slowly, one after the other. In those moments, Isaac was reentering the room with one of the batteries he had pulled out a few minutes ago, and I silently followed him as he replaced the other malfunctioning battery.

"Everything okay?" Isaac asked after he killed the surprise Puker in the elevator in front of us, "You seem really quiet."

I glanced up at him. "Oh, I'm fine," I assured him, "Just anxious about what'll happen next."

"I know," the engineer agreed, "But we'll figure everything out. You'll see." I nodded and climbed into the elevator as we began to descend to the floor below us. Along the way, Nolan contacted us again.

"_Isaac, Timmy,_" he began, "_The steps. He wants me to follow the steps._"

"Who does?" I asked, but he continued on as if I hadn't said anything.

"_Step one: crawl into the dark machine…_"

"Stross, calm down," Isaac tried to say as soothingly as possible, "He can't hurt you!"

"_He wants me to go into the dark machine, Isaac. I can't go. She's in there. She's waiting for me._"

"Again, _who_?" I asked, but he ignored me once more, so I gave up on trying to find out any information from him.

"Stross…" Isaac began, but didn't finish.

"_Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God…_"

"Whoa, calm down, man!" I piped up, "It's going to be okay! Trust me!"

"Stross, listen to us!" Isaac added, "You need to keep moving. Can you get to the train? Can you do that?"

Nolan didn't reply at first, but then, he whispered, "_He's coming. Can't talk…_"

"Nolan!" I shouted, but he was gone before we could say anything else.

"Damn," I whispered as we made it to the lower floor and rested at a Save Station across from us, "He's even worse than Kyne was as far as paranoia goes. How are we going to calm him down?"

"We'll figure something out," Isaac assured me.

"I don't even _want _to know what machine he was referring to just now," I said as we continued on our way into a storage facility. Once again, we spotted a Stasis Recharge, which didn't give us a good feeling about this room.

Sure enough, the minute we stepped closer to our destination, we suddenly heard the very familiar growl of the Stalkers we had run into back at the Church. "Oh, _shit!_" I cursed as Isaac used Stasis to take many of them out. Raising my Plasma Cutter, I dismembered some who were barreling towards me, but since I didn't have a Stasis Module like Isaac did, I would just have to time my attacks correctly.

Once the Stalkers were all down, Isaac led me over to another control panel, where after hacking for the next minute, he opened the door next to us. "This way," he whispered, and lifting our Plasma Cutters, we continued to tiptoe through the dark hallways. After a minute, Nolan contacted us again, apparently much calmer after his minor meltdown earlier. I had to be honest; his mood swings were starting to scare me a little bit.

"_Isaac? Timmy?_" he stammered, "_He's gone. Listen, the steps can destroy the Marker. Step 1: crawl into the dark machine. Step 2: the screws go tight, all around…_"

"The hell?" I spoke up, "You're speaking in tongues, Nolan. Care to elaborate?"

"Yeah, I don't understand," Isaac agreed.

"_Oh, God, he's back!_" Nolan gasped, "_NO! No, no, no, no!_"

"Stross, wait!" Isaac cried, but Nolan was gone.

"Damn," the engineer hissed.

"I know," I whispered in agreement, "And why doesn't he trust me?"

"He never said that," Isaac reasoned as we continued to walk.

"No, but he thinks I'm going to go bad or something," I replied, "I can tell."

"You're not going bad anytime soon, Timmy," Isaac assured me, "I know it and you know it. Don't let Stross's comments bother you. Alex may have turned out to be evil, but you haven't."

"I'll try not to," I said, "But Alex. God, I'm still wondering what happened to her."

Isaac suddenly faced me. "Let her go, Timmy," he told me, "She led us right into Daina's Unitologist hands. She betrayed us. There's no point in caring about her anymore." He hurried away, and I was left in my own thoughts.

_But…I think I may have liked her a little bit,_ I thought to myself, sighing.

As soon as we made our way into the next area, however, we heard voices. "Come on, you motherfuckers!" we heard a woman shout, and when we rounded the corner, we saw what was going on.

Standing behind the gate was a woman with a Plasma Cutter, and she was shooting at the Necromorphs that were converging on her. "Finally," I commented to Isaac, "A survivor who isn't helpless!"

"Let's go see if she does need help, though," Isaac suggested, and as we tried to approach her, we found ourselves being ambushed as well.

"I'm still standing!" the woman cried, reloading her Plasma Cutter and continuing to shoot. _So are we, _I thought as we finished dismembering all the Necromorphs around us.

"Yeah, come on!" the woman taunted, "You like this! Come and get it! Come on, I know there's more of you."

Leading me on, Isaac and I began to cross the room, and I decided to get the woman's attention. "Hey there!" I greeted, waving.

Suddenly, without warning, the woman whirled around, raised her Plasma Cutter, and shot at us. "Whoa!" I gasped, leaping backwards and raising my hands, "Hold your fire! We're survivors!" She frowned and shot at us again keeping her Plasma Cutter raised in front of her.

"Hey! Hey!" Isaac cried this time, jumping back next to me. This encounter reminded me of when Isaac and I had first met. After saving me from a Slasher, he had pointed his Pulse Rifle at me since he didn't know who I was. Now, he was getting the same treatment.

"You two!" the woman snapped, "Stay back! You wanna talk? You talk from there."

"Okay, okay!" I replied frantically, "Just don't dismember us!" _Damn, she's scary, _I thought to myself.

Suddenly, a video log popped up in front of us. "_And don't say you're here to help,_" she snapped, "_The last person who said that tried to kill me._"

"Hey now," I responded, "Do either of us look like that person who tried to kill you?"

"_Don't make light of this!_" she snarled, "_I don't appreciate it. If you want to live, keep your mouth shut!_" _Shit, _I thought, _Note to self: tone down the personality around this woman._

"Take it easy," Isaac said as calmly as possible, "We're not going to hurt you."

"_Yeah, you got that right,_" the woman replied, "_Either of you try it, and you're dead._"

"No, m'am," I piped up as she disappeared, "Shit."

"Yeah, cool it around her," Isaac said, "But I think you've learned that by now." I nodded, and we decided to approach her slowly as she hacked into the control panel next to the elevator. The gate separating us from her was still locked.

Taking off our helmets, Isaac and I approached her cautiously. "Look," Isaac began, "I think we all got off to a bad start here. I'm Isaac."

"And I'm Timmy," I introduced myself, "Sorry I was kind of an asshole before." I meant it, too.

The woman stopped hacking the control panel for a minute and frowned at us. "Ellie," was all she said, "What do you two want?"

"We're trying to get to the Transport Hub," Isaac explained, "We need to get to the Government Sector."

Ellie now turned around and faced us completely. "What do you think we were trying to do?" she asked.

"Get out of here alive?" I suggested, "We also want to do that, too." Shaking her head, Ellie turned her attention back to the control panel.

"Hey, we can help you," Isaac coaxed, "Besides, we've got a better chance if we stick together. Don't you agree?"

"Not a chance, Isaac," Ellie replied, walking over to us, "Other people are just a liability."

"You don't really mean that," I reasoned, "Do you?"

"Like I said," Ellie repeated from before, "Someone else I trusted almost killed me. I'm not going to take that chance again."

I sighed as I thought about how I felt the same way. "You know, Ellie," I began, "I felt the same way when all of this started. I didn't trust anybody other than Isaac, but then I realized something: you don't have to mistrust everyone you meet." Sure, we hit some bumps in the road, like Daina and…and _Alex, _but overall, I felt like I was learning to open up again. To get rid of my paranoia.

Ellie still didn't feel the same way, and I sighed again as I knew I wouldn't be able to change how she felt. Shaking her head, she backed up as she said, "I'll release the door lock. But after that, you two are on your own. And please, _don't _follow me. Okay?" She then backed into the elevator and pushed the button to close the door.

"Wait…wait!" Isaac shouted, but it was too late. Ellie was already gone.

"I hope she'll be all right," I said as we collected a few more items before continuing on our journey.

"She'll be fine," Isaac assured me, "I wish she would change her mind, though."

"Yeah," I agreed, "Me too."

* * *

_**Fifteen minutes later…**_

"This must be the primary school Alex was talking about before," Isaac commented as we opened the double doors and entered a brightly colored hallway. Decorations hung from the ceilings, and what really killed me was that there was blood on the walls. Thinking about Al and Dave again, I felt my stomach turn.

In the distance, I could have sworn that I heard the sound of babies crying, and I closed my eyes to block it out. I didn't even want to think about where that could have been coming from. "Christ," I hissed under my breath, "How could this happen?"

"Tiedemann, that's how," Isaac growled, and we moved on from there.

The sound of crying babies got louder, and when we rounded the corner, we saw why. In one of the side rooms, we watched as a woman tried to get one of the small Necromorph babies we had spotted to crawl to her. Baby Necromorphs! This definitely earned a "What the fuck?" in my books.

"Come to momma!" the woman cooed, "Yes, yes, that's it! Come to momma. Oh, right up there. Oh, oh! Yes. There you go…"

"Shit," I hissed under my breath, "Shit…"

_Boom! _In a flash, the Baby Necromorph exploded, splattering blood onto the window in front of us. "AHH!" Isaac screamed, covering his eyes.

"Fuck!" I cursed, "This is really fucked up. I want to get out of here."

But as we moved on, we suddenly heard an announcement from a woman with a sugary voice. "_Okay, everyone!_" she said, "_Fifteen minutes for recess! Play nice!_"

"Oh my God," Isaac petitioned as we crossed over into the next room.

"I'm never taking my brother to primary school," I declared, "I've called it."

Isaac faced me in surprise. "You have a little brother?" he asked, "You never told me that."

"I have two brothers," I explained, "Allen's fourteen and David just made one. If they could see all of this now…" I sighed.

"Where are they now?" Isaac asked.

_Shit,_ I realized with dread, _I shouldn't have mentioned them!_ "They're…back home," I explained, "On Earth."

"Where they _should _be. Where _we _should be, too. Not here." I nodded in agreement.

"Why are _you _here, then?" Isaac suddenly asked, "Why aren't you back at home with them?"

"I'm trying to figure that out myself," I muttered as we suddenly confronted a few more of those Crawlers we had seen before. Continuing on our way, we stopped to explore every room in hopes of finding anything useful. And lo and behold…

"I found a schematic for the flamethrower," Isaac announced, handing it over to me.

"Sweet!" I cheered, taking it from him, "It's about time! Next store we go to, I'm getting a flamethrower."

"Sounds like a plan," Isaac agreed, "Are you going to keep the Plasma Cutter on you?"

"Probably," I decided after some careful consideration. I had originally said I would trade the Plasma Cutter in, but after using it for a long time, I decided it wasn't a bad tool to keep. I didn't see the harm in using both that and the flamethrower, though I would probably use the flamethrower as my main weapon for the rest of the adventure.

We entered the next room, which was a large gymnasium, and after killing some more of the Pack, we made our way onto the stage, and after a minor scare from a sun decoration, Isaac managed to hack into the stage, lowering the props and the tables on the gym floor, and after the next wave from the Pack and some other Slashers, we picked up all the ammo, credits, and ammo scattered around the floor before moving on.

"Let's get out of here," I whispered.

* * *

_RIIING! "_Recess is over,_" a voice announced as Timmy and I entered another room, where a bunch of toys were scattered around the floor. _

_"That lady is creeping me out now," Timmy whispered. _

_"Yeah," I replied in a distant tone of voice, for in that moment, I saw Nicole standing in front of me. _

_"Still in denial?" she snarled, "Afraid you're going to cut your wrists if you listen to me?" _

_"I'm not listening to this," I replied while Timmy looked on anxiously, "You may fool Stross, but I know you're not real." _

_"Oh, you claim I'm not real, and yet here I am." _

_"You're just a hallucination! Stross knows how to destroy you! He knows how to destroy the Marker! We will destroy you!" _

_Nicole laughed. "How convenient," she replied, "Destroy the Marker, and all the hurt and pain go away. Imagine it, Isaac. You'll never have to listen to your heart." And in a flash of light, she was gone until all I was staring at was a blank wall. _

_"Isaac?" Timmy asked softly, "You okay?" _

_"Yeah," I assured him, "Thank you, Timmy." As we continued on our way, Timmy spoke up again. _

_"You seem to be getting better at fighting her off," he commented. _

_I sighed as I thought about it. "Yeah," I repeated, "I…guess I am." I figured some of it was because I knew Nicole was…not here anymore, to put it delicately. _

_As we entered the elevator in the corner, we suddenly received a message from a familiar face. "_Isaac, Timmy, it's Ellie!"_ she began, "_I found someone. Another survivor. He says he knows you two._" _

_"Who?" Timmy asked, and when Ellie zoomed the camera out, we saw who it was. _

_"_Isaac! Timmy!_" Nolan Stross stammered, but Ellie raised her Plasma Cutter to his face, and he raised his hands up in defense. _

_"_I said stand still!" _she snapped. _

_"Ellie, take it easy!" I replied, "His name is Stross. We know him." _

_Ellie narrowed her eyes. "_He looks…twitchy,_" she commented, "_I don't trust him. Don't move!_" She pointed her Plasma Cutter at Nolan again. _

_"Trust me, Ellie," Timmy piped up from my right, "He's afraid of his own shadow. He's not going anywhere." _

_"Ellie!" I added, "We need him to be…not dead. We need him." _

_Ellie considered it for a minute. "_Shit,"_ she cursed, "_Okay, you two. I'll march him to the hub, but if he does anything stupid…_anything…_I will shoot him."_ She signed off after that. _

_"Ellie and Nolan," Timmy sighed, "I hope he doesn't give her a hard time. She is not someone to mess with." _

_"That's for sure," I agreed, "Let's move." We silently wandered through the next few deserted hallways until we arrived at the hub at last. _

_"Wow, that was fast," Timmy whispered. _

_Up above, we spotted two people, and Ellie suddenly contacted us again. "_Isaac, Timmy!_" she cried, "_We're up here. Come on, move!"_ She said that to someone else, and when we glanced up, we saw it was Nolan. _

_"_H-hello, Isaac," _he greeted feebly, "_Timmy. Good to see you again._" _

_"You, too, Nolan!" Timmy shouted to him. _

_"_Well, this brings up bad memories," _Ellie commented, "_I barely managed to escape this CEC Facility this morning."

_"Wait, you're CEC?" I asked. _

_Ellie nodded. "_Heavy equipment pilot, Class Four,_" she explained, "_You?_" _

_"Engineer," I explained. _

_At this, Ellie smirked. "_Nerd. Figures."

_Suddenly, the lights flickered and then shut off for good. "Shit," I cursed under my breath. _

_"It's dark!" Nolan cried, "He'll find me in the dark!" _

_"Shut up!" Ellie hissed, "It's okay, it's just a power outage." _

_"Damn, Isaac," Timmy commented, "Who would shut the power off like this?" _

_"I don't know!" Nolan answered from the upper level, "But I don't want him to find me! Don't let him find me!" _

_"You guys all right up there?" I shouted in concern. _

_"No," Nolan answered again. _

_"Shit," Ellie cursed, "I think life support is out, too." _

_"That's not good," Nolan stammered, and Timmy and I both picked up on the panic in his voice. _

_"Jesus, Ellie," Timmy piped up, "Try and calm him down up there!" _

_Suddenly, a video log popped up in front of us, and a face we hoped to never see appeared. "Wait a minute," Timmy began in a suspicious tone, "Isn't that…?" _

_"_Our three remaining runners: Clarke, Stross, and Stamford,"_ Hans Tiedemann began from his end, "_I knew it was only a matter of time before you all reached the transit hub. You will find the train inoperable."

_"Tiedemann!" Timmy snapped, "Go fuck yourself!" _

_"_Outspoken as always, are we, Stamford? Your attitude is going to get you killed one of these days."

_"I stand by what I said, you asshole," Timmy growled. _

_"Are you insane?" I added, "You cut off power to life support! There may be other survivors over here!"_

"The public sector is already beyond acceptable recovery conditions," _Tiedemann replied, "_And I can't allow any of you to escape. Goodbye, Clarke. Stamford."

_"Hey!" Timmy shouted as Tiedemann turned his back to us, "HEY! We're not finished with you!" But Tiedemann was gone, and following that, we heard the sound of a door breaking down, as well as a familiar roar. _

_"Holy, shit, you two!" Ellie yelled from above, "Look out! It's headed for both of you!" _

_And with that, we watched as a Brute appeared and made for the two of us. "Holy shit!" Timmy echoed as I grabbed him and pulled him away from the Brute's path. _

_"Why couldn't I have my flamethrower now?" Timmy asked as I grabbed one of the lamps that resembled my Stasis Module. Tossing it at the Brute, I began to shoot at its arms while Timmy took out the legs. _

_Up above, Ellie and Nolan had their own attackers to deal with. "Where do they keep coming from?" Ellie asked as she shot her Plasma Cutter at the Necromorphs, and Nolan just cowered next to her the whole time. _

_In front of us, the Stasis wore off, and using my own supply of Stasis, I ran to go get another lamp while Timmy dealt with the hulking Necromorph. When it looked like the Brute was getting too close, Timmy made a run for it and joined up with me again. Up above, Ellie and Nolan seemed to finally stop having to kill Necromorphs, and after a few more attacks, the Brute went down as well. _

_Ellie, Timmy, and I all sighed as we reloaded our weapons, and Ellie decided to contact us through video logs again. "_Isaac? Timmy, are you all right?"_ she asked, "_I think that's all of them, for now. Why did Tiedemann turn off the power? What did you two do to piss him off so much?"

_"Ellie, do you know what a Marker is?" I began, and to my relief, she nodded. _

_"_Yeah,"_ she answered, "_The Unitologists on my crew wouldn't shut up about it. Why? Is it real?_" _

_"Oh, yeah," Timmy quipped. _

_"Yeah, it's real," I told her, "Tiedemann made one using codes, patterns stored in our heads…mine and Stross. Everything that's happening on this station is happening because of that Marker. I have to get to it and destroy it and I need Stross to tell me how." _

_"And I'm the guy who knows too much," Timmy explained as Ellie faced him next, "Tiedemann's afraid I'll spill the beans on this whole operation." _

_Ellie shook her head. "_You're a strange man, Isaac_," she commented, "_Timmy, how do you deal with all this?"

_"I don't mind," Timmy replied, "Isaac's my friend." _

_"Will you help us?" I asked her hopefully. _

_"_We're about to suffocate,"_ she replied, "_So, I think I'd better_."_

"_Okay, good. Listen, we need power. Without it, we have no air or train. The Sprawl's got to have back-up batteries somewhere." _

_"_Yes," _Ellie agreed, "_The solar arrays up there! But they've been mothballed for years."

"_Okay. All right, good. We're heading there now. If we can start them up and get some power to the train…" _

"You'll need someone to open the collector panels. I can do that."

"_Take Stross. Keep him safe." Ellie nodded and disappeared. _

_"Come on, Timmy!" I called out to Timmy, who had been picking up some supplies in a corner of the room. _

_"Right behind you, Isaac!" he replied, and hurrying him along, we began to head towards the solar arrays._


	8. Rays of Sunshine in the Dark

Yay, another update! Thanks again for the reviews! :) I wanted to get this chapter up before things got really busy, so here it is. Enjoy! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. All other dialogue is mine. I also don't own Six Flags: Great Adventure or Kingda Ka (which is the craziest roller coaster I've ever been on, but also a lot of fun).

_Italics- _Isaac's POV, Audio/Video Transmissions

* * *

"Now, we're cooking with gas," I commented as I finally managed to purchase the flamethrower at the Store in front of us. After Isaac, the flamethrower was my next best friend, and I grinned to myself as I strapped it over my shoulder and slipped the Plasma Cutter into the utility belt on my suit. I would need it in the airless sections, since the flamethrower was useless.

When Isaac didn't reply at first, I added, "Bad pun, I know. But I couldn't help myself."

"Don't worry," Isaac replied as he finished upgrading his Pulse Rifle at the Bench right next to the Save Station, "You're fine."

"Good," I sighed, "At least Ellie changed her mind about not wanting to join up with us."

"She wouldn't have done that if she hadn't found Stross," Isaac reminded me as we took out a few Swarms up ahead.

"True," I replied, "God, I hope she can stand him long enough for us to all meet up again."

"That's just a risk we'll have to take."

However, when we moved forward to go up to the solar arrays, we noticed that the elevator wasn't working.

"Ellie," Isaac said into the communicator, "We ran into a snag. It looks like the Docking Pod that runs to the Solar Array is floating at the bottom of the shaft."

"_That figures,_" Ellie replied in a frustrated tone of voice.

"Don't worry, we can fix this," Isaac assured her, "We're heading outside to have a look." We proceeded outside to see what the problem was.

"At least she's not ordering us around," I mused, "She's right in the middle of the action like we are."

Isaac nodded in agreement as he shot one of the thrust canisters next to us. We watched as a piece of the Docking Pod began to float away from us. "Come on!" the engineer cried, and we entered another zero-gravity environment. Leaping up into the air, we flew around the room as Isaac continued shooting the other thrust canisters, and once that was finished, we flew back to the entrance of the room.

"Ellie, we've got the elevator repaired," Isaac reported, "We're heading up to the array. How's Stross doing?"

We could just make out the sound of Nolan talking to himself in the distance. "_How do you think he's doing?_" Ellie replied, "_Can you hear this shit?_"

"Don't worry," I told her, "You get used to it after a while." It was true; after our adventure on the _Ishimura_ and a few of the people we had met now, we were used to watching others talk to themselves.

"He's hallucinating, Ellie," Isaac explained, "It's part of the sickness."

"_This is going to be trouble,_" Ellie sighed just as we caught Nolan muttering to himself again.

"It already is," Isaac responded, "Just keep moving." We heard Nolan one last time before Ellie signed off.

A few minutes later, we had entered the large elevator leading up to the solar array, but on the way up, we suddenly heard a soft _thump, _and then the sound of glass breaking. As all the air vented into space, Isaac and I whipped around as a few different Necromorphs tried to grab us through the open windows, but we didn't let them get us. Since the flamethrower was no good, I switched to the Plasma Cutter, and I was glad I had decided to keep it.

Once the silent ambush was over, and the air returned to the room, we heard a voice announce, "_Arriving at Solar Array Sigma Zero Five._"

"Finally!" I sighed as we exited the elevator. We ran around silently for the next few minutes until we arrived in the next big room.

"_Welcome to Solar Array Sigma Zero Five,_" a voice announced, "_Proper identification is required. Please wait here. Watchman Howard Phillips will be with you shortly._" And so we waited. And waited. And waited…

* * *

_**Ten minutes later…**_

"All right, this is ridiculous," Isaac growled, "We can't stand here waiting for him forever."

"Want to bet that he's not even alive anymore?" I added, sighing.

"Let's just go," Isaac suggested, but when we tried to get through the door up ahead, red lights began to scan us, and an alarm followed.

"_Your RIG is not authorized to access this area,_" a voice announced, "_Please step away from the door._"

"Let's see if we can find some sort of identification," I said, and we began exploring the room until we stumbled upon something disturbing: a bloody corpse resting on the bed.

"Is that…?" I started, but didn't finish.

"Howard Philips?" Isaac finished for me, "Yeah, that's him. Look at the face." Suddenly, we both perked up and glanced at each other as if we were thinking the same thing.

"Timmy?" Isaac began, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

I nodded, feeling sick to the stomach. "I just know we're going to regret this," I replied, "But yes." I had to look away as Isaac used Kinesis to pick up Philips's body, and we walked back over to the locked door, which scanned the corpse and gave us access to the next area.

"_RIG authorization recognized. Greetings, Station Watchman Howard Philips. I hope you slept well._"

"Oh, he slept well, all right," I whispered under my breath.

"That seemed too easy," Isaac commented as we continued on our way. I didn't say anything, but I realized he was right as soon as alarms began to ring and barriers suddenly appeared.

"_Unauthorized visitors detected. Auto defenses activated. Station Watchman Howard Philips, please provide verbal access code to authorize your guests._"

"Fuck that," Isaac cursed under his breath, "Stand back, Timmy." And picking up a metal barrel in front of us, the engineer used it to blow our way through the defenses.

"Well," I gasped, "That works, too."

"Come on!" We sprinted into the next area, and after a minor decompression scare and a swarm of Necromorphs, Isaac managed to hack his way into the elevator in the corner. Once we were on the floor above us, we took out another Necromorph before quickly healing and moving on.

Adding to our good luck so far, another defense system activated as soon as Isaac pulled the bridge in front of us down. "_Clarke, Stamford,_" Tiedemann began out of nowhere, "_I know you two are up there. Understand that even if you survive long enough to restore power, there is no escape. All routes in and out of government sector are being monitored. Give up, you two._"

I opened my mouth to respond when Isaac suddenly covered it with a gloved hand. "Don't," he chided, "He's not worth it."

"All right, all right," I sighed as we continued to move through this next area (after restoring oxygen to the hallway by hacking into a nearby control panel first), the mainframe.

"_Unauthorized visitors, mainframe,_" the same, female voice announced as a few lights began to flicker around us.

"Just give us away, why don't you?" I shouted sarcastically to the computer.

"_Computer, this is Director Tiedemann,_" Tiedemann crooned into the loudspeaker, "_Disable all Solar Array Functions immediately._"

"He's got to be joking," I groaned as a lockdown went into effect, shutting the two of us in this room.

"_I'm sorry, you two,_" Tiedemann apologized insincerely, "_I know what you're trying to do, and I cannot allow you to succeed. There is too much at stake._"

"Yeah, well you're forgetting one thing, Tiedemann," Isaac said as Tiedemann disappeared, "I'm a systems engineer." God, Isaac was so badass sometimes.

* * *

_**Two rooms of using Kinesis and squares to unlock the mainframe later… **_

_"_Mainframe containment compromised," _the robotic, female voice announced, "_Security has been notified."

_"Wasn't exactly smart of Tiedemann to lock us _in _the room, was it?" Timmy asked, and if he wasn't wearing his helmet, I would have guessed that he was smirking to himself. _

_"No," I agreed, grinning to myself, "But I'm not complaining. We'll find a way out of here. Can't imagine he's too happy with either of us right now." _

_"Who cares?" Timmy replied as we crawled back the way we came, "He can go shove his precious Marker up his ass." _

_I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing. "Where do you come up with some of the things you say sometimes?" I asked him, "You're not afraid of Tiedemann?" _

_Timmy scoffed. "Are you kidding?" he asked, "Of course I'm afraid. But I'm not going to let him know that. Like you said, he's not worth it." _

_Suddenly, we heard the sound of glass breaking, and after dismembering two Necromorphs that had appeared, we approached the mainframe. Timmy kept a lookout for Necromorphs while I shot at the different fuses to destroy the system. From behind me, I could hear the usual snarling of Necromorphs, which Timmy took care of as I finished with my job. _

_"_Automated functions…offline. Lllockouts…offfline. Ssstation reverting to…manual operation only. ANTI…offfffffliiiiiiiine." _After slowly dying, the computer system crashed, and the door up ahead unlocked. _

_"AHH!" I gasped as a body suddenly fell on me. In a rush, I shook it off and Timmy steadied me, nodding silently. _

_"Ellie," I announced into my RIG, "We're on our way to the mirrors now. We have to realign them manually. How's Stross?" _

_"_See for yourself,"_ Ellie replied as she sent us a video log of the two of them. She focused the camera on Nolan as he began to have a panic attack. _

_"_No, I'm not ready to have the needle again!_" he yelled, "_You have to let me out! I can't breathe! Let me out!_" _

_"Stross, what's wrong?" I asked, "Ellie?" _

_"_He's waiting for me!_" Nolan wailed as the camera cut out. _

_"Shit," Timmy cursed under his breath as he glanced at me. That was all he could say as opposed to his usual comments. _

_A familiar squealing noise caught our attention, and we glanced up in shock as the all too familiar Components attacked us. "Oh, God, these things are back?" Timmy gasped as we used Stasis in order to curb stomp them to death. _

_"Unfortunately," I replied, "I hated them on the _Ishimura _and I hate them now." _

_We plowed our way through the next few dark hallways, getting rid of more of those Components as we collected health items for ourselves, and by the time we got to the next room and finished dismembering the few Necromorphs in this slightly bigger space, we rested at the Save Station before I hacked into the door next to us. _

_"This is it," I whispered to Timmy, "We finally made it to our destination." _

_"Hopefully, Ellie and Nolan are doing well, too," Timmy added, but as soon as I opened the next door, I was in for a surprise. My head started to hurt, but I tried to ignore it for Timmy's sake. I really didn't want him worrying about me. I didn't want him to think I was a basket case. Was that why he really came back? Because he felt sorry for me and not because he was my friend? _

_"How do you do it?" Nicole hissed from where she sat, "How do you hold it all inside, your face never betraying your pain? No one would ever know the guilt you feel, never know the dark thoughts you keep." _

_I wasn't going to listen to this. I didn't want to hear it. Nicole was dead, no matter how much I didn't want her to be, and no hallucination could bring her back. I wanted to say something back so badly, but again, I was tired of Timmy treating me like I was a ticking time bomb. Then again, wasn't I pretty much doing the same thing to Stross? Why was this all so confusing? _

_"You haven't told him yet, have you, Isaac?" Nicole continued viciously, "About what you did?" I didn't respond, but I glanced at Timmy anyway as he studied the panels describing the Solar Array. Upon seeing this, Nicole smirked. _

_"I didn't think so," she said, "He's not going to be happy when he finds out. He'll abandon you again, just like the last time. He won't care anymore. No one will. Poor Isaac. All alone once again." And just like that, she disappeared, and in my anger, I jammed the button to the elevator and began to take us up to the Solar Array itself. I was not going to let this hallucination get to me. I couldn't. _

_"The quicker we realign these mirrors, the better," Timmy commented, glancing down at his Plasma Cutter. That was when I realized: I would have to keep an eye on him, too, just in case. _

* * *

"_Entering zero gravity,_" a voice announced as Isaac and I also entered the vacuum of space as well. Glancing around quickly, I spotted some Oxygen Recharge Stations, thank God.

Isaac had been awfully quiet since we entered the elevator and made our way up here, but he wouldn't tell me anything. Why, I didn't know. I looked to my left and spotted Saturn right next to the _Sprawl. _My God, the view was amazing! In my world, I had never even been into outer space, and now, I was floating close to Saturn! This was unbelievable!

"Ellie," Isaac said, "It looks like two of the mirrors are out of alignment. How's he doing?"

"_He's stopped hyperventilating, but I don't know how much longer he'll last. I knew he would just slow me down._"

"Give him a chance, Ellie," I said to her, "He may surprise us all in the end."

"_I'm waiting for that day,_" Ellie replied, and I smirked to myself. I liked this woman more and more every minute.

"If Stross dies," Isaac cut in, "So do our chances of destroying the Marker. Keep him alive and get to that panel."

"_I'll try,_" Ellie responded, "_Wish me luck._"

"Good luck," I said to her, and she went offline.

Gesturing to me, Isaac and I flew down to the nearest oxygen recharge, and after we each had a full supply of oxygen again, we kicked up from the ground after killing a nearby Necromorph that was trying to attack us. I followed Isaac as he approached the first mirror and moved it until it was aligned with the mirror across from it.

"All right, Ellie, one down," Isaac reported, "How's it looking on your end?"

"_I'm trying to roll back the cover now,_" Ellie told us, "_Stross, can you give me a hand with this?_"

"_He'll hurt me!_" Nolan cried, "_I'm not strong enough!"_

"Positive thoughts, Nolan," I said soothingly into my communicator, "They're your best friend right now." But Nolan still wasn't convinced.

"_I promise I'll protect you,_" Ellie assured him, "_Now just get over here and give me a hand._" It seemed to have worked, for we heard both Nolan and Ellie working together to remove the cover.

"_There's something covering the collector's panel…Oh my God!_"

"What?" I asked anxiously, "What is it?"

"_There's hun-there's thousands of them! They're breaking apart!_"

"Ellie, get out of there!" Isaac shouted.

"_Oh, God, they're heading this way! Run, Stross! Run!_"

"Ellie! Ellie, come in! Ellie!" But Ellie was gone.

"Shit," Isaac murmured under his breath. _God, I hope they're okay,_ I thought to myself. But then I realized: this was Ellie we were talking to. She would be fine.

Once Isaac and I realigned the other mirror, we watched as the beam in the middle lit up and began to spin rapidly. Our work here was done.

"_Holy shit, you guys!_" Ellie gasped once she got back in contact with us again.

"Ellie! Ellie, are you all right?" Isaac asked.

"_We just made it into the crossover tube when the beam hit! Isaac, Timmy, those things are still heading for the Transport Hub. They're wrecking everything in their path!" _

_"_Oh, shit!" Isaac cursed, glancing at me, "They'll cut us off! Get to the hub! We'll meet you as soon as we can!"

Just before Ellie signed off, I caught Nolan mumbling to himself. "_No, no, no,_" he muttered, "_Ellie can help, but she doesn't see you. She doesn't believe in you…yet. One step at a time…_"

"What the fuck?" I asked myself as Isaac and I flew back inside to the elevator, where the panel to go back down wasn't working anymore.

"Ellie! Come in!" Isaac shouted.

"_Isaac! Timmy! We have to cross to the Government Sector before they cut us off! You two will never make it down here in time!" _

"We'll be there!" Isaac thundered, "We'll be there!" _Shit, _I thought, _So much tension. God, I hope we make it. But how?_

We glanced over at the two emergency seats that reminded me of the seats on roller coasters. "Isaac," I whispered, "We have to go on these?"

"Looks like it," Isaac replied, "Here, I'll take this one, and you take the one in the back." I craned my neck and realized there was another vacant seat behind this first one. Almost immediately, Isaac sat down and began to strap himself in.

"_Instability detected in the Array Alignment. Emergency ejector systems initializing._"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" I gasped as the safety bars lowered over Isaac's shoulders similar to Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, "You're leaving _now_?"

"We have to!" Isaac shouted, "We've got to reach Ellie and Stross! Now go! Get in the other seat!"

As I strapped myself in, I watched as Isaac's seat lifted up into the air and then pointed straight down at the now open elevator shaft. "Isaac?" I asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, Timmy!" he yelled back over the din, "You're going to be fine! You just have to trust me!"

"Isaac!" I shouted, but before I could finish my sentence, Isaac was already free falling through the shaft and out into the vacuum of space. He moved so fast he looked blurry. Everything was quiet as I heard more creaking, and I realized it was my turn.

I was not afraid of roller coasters or any other thrill rides. In fact, I loved them, Kingda Ka being my favorite. But this was completely different. I heard the whirring of the lever next to me as I was lifted into the air, and I gulped as I shook in my seat. _Oh, crap, _I thought, _Holy shit. This is going to be so much worse than Kingda Ka! _

With a hiss, the elevator shaft opened again, and I felt my heart beat even faster as I moved into a completely vertical position. Gulping again, I gripped the shoulder restraints until my knuckles turned white. _Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh shit! _I thought, squeezing my eyes shut tight.

_Whoosh! _With a sudden burst of acceleration, I felt myself jerk back in the seat as I began free falling through the shaft. My stomach zoomed up to my throat as I plummeted through the chamber, and the engines powering the seat rumbled in my ears until I arrived back in space. "Holy crap!" I gasped just before entering the vacuum. The sound cut out in a matter of seconds, and all around me, I felt the shoulder bars fly up and eject me from the seat, and from there, I realized I was on my own. Up ahead, I spotted Isaac flying through the debris field, and I had to smile to myself as he reminded me of Iron Man. He artfully dodged all the debris flying at him, and I decided this was his most badass moment out of both the games.

Turning on the accelerators in my boots, I began to follow Isaac, making very close calls with the debris, but avoiding them at the last minute all the same. I made sure to watch Isaac the whole time just to see where he was going so that I wouldn't miss him. At one point, he flew through a hole right in the middle of a rather large piece of debris, and I nearly missed the opening. Damn. This was the first time I was forced to go through something on my own, but I wouldn't have been able to fit in that seat with Isaac.

After what seemed like ages, I watched as Isaac tried to aim for a specific roof, and I made sure to follow him, though we were free falling once again. It was almost like skydiving, only much more intense. At one point, I saw Isaac glance over his shoulder and nod at me, and I nodded in return. I backed up a little bit so I wouldn't be right on top of him, and I watched as he plummeted into a particular building, and I made sure I ended up there as well. After another eternity, I finally made it into the same chute that Isaac had fallen into, and after another minute of falling, we finally landed on the ground, brushing away the dust that had formed around us.

Picking myself up, I glanced over at Isaac, who was standing up as well. Taking a deep breath, he turned to me and said, "So?"

"I guess that wasn't so bad," I decided, "Let's keep going."

And with that, we set off to find Ellie and Nolan, hoping they were still alive like we were. A minute later, Isaac radioed in to Ellie. "Ellie!" he shouted, "Where are you?"

"_Right outside! Hurry!_"


	9. Arguments and the Tensions that Follow

All right, so something I noticed on the _Dead Space _Wiki site: remember the doctor named "Frank Johnson" in the first couple of chapters in this story? Turns out his name is Edgar Foster. The Wiki site finally gave him an official name, so I've gone back and edited the parts with him in it to avoid confusion. With that in mind, here's the next chapter! :) Thanks again for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions

* * *

I wasn't sure which was worse: running out of ammo in the middle of a fight or having enough ammo, but no functioning weapon to use it with. I was about to find out, as well as discover some new information.

After Isaac and I were finished at the Store, we made our way back to the Transport Hub, where Ellie and Nolan would be waiting for us. "Isaac! Timmy!" Ellie cried, and when we glanced up, we saw both her and Nolan running.

"This way!" she continued, "The train is this way!"

"Right behind you!" I replied, and as we all began running in the same general direction, we suddenly felt heard, and saw a loud explosion up ahead.

"Oh, _shit!_" Ellie cursed.

"Get back!" Isaac shouted, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the fray. He then glanced up to where the others were.

"Move, move, move!" he ordered, waving them on, "Head for the factory! Ellie, can you get the door to the factory open?" _Boom! Boom! Boom! _More explosions followed that one, making it nearly impossible to hear Ellie.

"Are you crazy?" Ellie shrieked, "I barely made it out of there with my life! That place is swarming with those things!"

"No choice! Go! GO!"

"_SHIT!_" And with that, Ellie and Nolan were gone, and suddenly, the flames in the corner of the room died down as the entire area turned into a vacuum.

"Now what?" I shouted to Isaac just before the sound disappeared, and in response, Isaac whipped out his Pulse Rifle as the Pack swarmed into the room. Taking out my Plasma Cutter, I began to go after some of the other types of Necromorphs…only to discover something horrifying.

_Oh, no, _I thought to myself, _No, no, NO! This is not happening! _Although the tool was fully loaded to its maximum capacity, the trigger was stuck, preventing me from shooting any rounds. A broken Plasma Cutter? How the hell did this happen? I decided this was worse than running out of ammo. The flamethrower was no good, so I was pretty much defenseless in vacuums once again.

In desperation, I tried shooting the Plasma Cutter again, only to find that it still wasn't working. _Damn it! _I thought, dodging an attack from an aggressive Leaper and taking cover in a corner of the room.

"_Isaac, Timmy,_" Ellie piped up, "_I'll try to open the CEC door on your level. Hold on!_" I nodded frantically, using whatever was in my reach to throw off the Necromorphs, but soon found that I was slowly being overwhelmed.

"_Timmy!_" Isaac said through the communicator, "_What's going on?_"

"I'm being overrun by these beasts as we speak!" I replied, "My Plasma Cutter broke on me!"

_"Don't let the Necromorphs kill you! Use your flamethrower!_"

"What?" I replied back as I kicked the same Leaper out of the way, "Isaac, you know the flamethrower doesn't work in vacuums!"

"_Just do it!_" And with that, he was gone.

"_Piece of shit lock!_" Ellie growled to herself, "_I'm giving it my codes, but it's not working!_"

"Just keep trying!" I replied back as I reached for the flamethrower. I had my doubts about this. My flamethrower back on the _Ishimura _didn't work in the airless environments, so what was so different about this one?

Gulping, I flipped the flamethrower on and watched in shock as flames actually shot out of the canister! _What is this? _I thought, _How is this possible?_ Getting up, I charged, scaring off all the Necromorphs in the area with the bright, orange flames. Next to me, Isaac nodded, and I would have to ask him about this once we were out of this area.

"_Yes, I'm authorized for this!_" Ellie snapped, "_Open up, you bastard!_"

It seemed to take forever before any progress was made, and as I stopped using the flamethrower, Ellie suddenly said, "_There, it's open! You two, go! You can't stop them all! Go!"_

Isaac waved to me, and after picking up some flame fuel, I followed him onto the large elevator, where the door closed behind us and began to take us upstairs.

"Thanks for the tip back there," I thanked my friend, "Though how is that possible? How did the flamethrower still work?"

Taking a deep breath, Isaac reached for the flamethrower, and I handed it over to him. "Unlike your flamethrower on the _Ishimura,_" he began, "This one uses liquid hydrazine, and it has a small compartment filled with liquid oxidizer. And there you have it. It works." He handed the weapon back to me, and I strapped it over my shoulder once again.

"I should have paid more attention in Chemistry," I murmured to myself.

"You said your Plasma Cutter stopped working, too?" Isaac asked, and I handed that to him next.

"I think it's shot," I lamented, and Isaac twirled it around in his hands as we sent another message to Ellie through a video log.

"Ellie?" Isaac asked, "Are you guys there? Did you make it?" She glanced at us sadly before shutting her eyes, looking away, and shaking her head.

"_Shit, you guys,_" she croaked, "_Just…shit!_"

"You okay, Ellie?" I asked with concern.

"Take it easy," Isaac said to her gently, "It's okay-"

"_No, it's not!_" Ellie snapped, "_I was right here this morning with a crew of thirty people. But we were overrun, and before I knew it, they had all transformed._" She closed her eyes again, and I could tell she wanted to cry.

"_I had to cut the arms and legs off my friends just to escape," _she choked, "_I'm sure there are pieces of them still lying around here somewhere. And here I am again. I've just walked one big fucking circle today!_" She sighed, and I couldn't think of anything to say. I could imagine how tough that had been for her.

"Ellie, I know," Isaac whispered, "I'm sorry."

Ellie shook her head again and faced me, noticing how I had remained silent. "_What's wrong, Timmy?_" she asked in the same tone of voice, "_Cat got your tongue this time? Don't have anything spontaneous to say about this?_"

"N-no," I replied, shaking my head as well, "Except that if I were there now, I'd give you a hug. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Well get through this," Isaac assured her, "Let's figure out how to meet up." Ellie slowly started to come around again, and she nodded and opened her eyes.

"_Right. There's a central hub in the main facility. Here are the coordinates." _And after she gave us the coordinates, she went offline.

"Wow," I gasped once we exited the elevator, "I'm a little surprised that she thought I would be insensitive towards hearing something like that. Sure, I make bold comments sometimes, but never about anything that serious."

"She's just going through a rough time right now," Isaac explained in her defense, "We all are."

* * *

With a squeal and a hiss, I watched as Isaac emerged from the Store in the new Vintage Suit after we had gone exploring and found the Schematic for it. He looked sort of like a scuba diver, but at least he was a little more resistant to damage. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go," I replied. While we had taken a break, Isaac had volunteered to fix my Plasma Cutter, too, and I more than obliged; he was the engineer around here. If he could improvise his own Plasma Cutter, then he could fix one, too. After typing information into the Save Station, we continued on our way after we made sure we were prepared.

After killing a few Necromorphs in the next few hallways (including the dreaded Pregnant), we made our way into the next room, where Isaac picked up a Power Node in a secluded corner. Suddenly, he stopped and clutched his head. Oh, God. Was he having another episode?

"Isaac?" I started, but to my surprise, he started mumbling something under his breath and I had to strain my ears to listen.

"If you ask me if I'm okay one more time…" he started, but didn't finish.

"What was that?" I asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Isaac replied, and I decided to give him the same treatment he had given me on the _Ishimura _whenever I seemed secretive. Reaching out, I grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around to face me.

"Now who's being difficult?" I asked, annoyance creeping into my voice, "You just had another episode, didn't you?"

"Don't worry about it," Isaac continued to mumble. I felt myself grow more frustrated every minute, and since I didn't want to slap Isaac across the face again, I grabbed my newly fixed Plasma Cutter and fired a round to get my anger out.

"Whoa, watch it, Timmy!" Isaac gasped as he leaped out of the way of my Plasma Energy, "Are you crazy? You could have hit me!"

I was secretly horrified. I hadn't seen how close Isaac was to my line of fire, and I felt bad for nearly shooting him, but I wouldn't let him know that yet. I was still annoyed. "What has been going on with you, Isaac?" I demanded as we continued through the dark hallways, "Ever since we entered the Solar Array, you've been acting really secretive, and honestly, it's pissing me off! Do you not want me asking if you're okay or something? Am I really being punished for being concerned?"

"That's just it!" Isaac argued in return as I lowered the Plasma Cutter once again, "Do you realize how much you've asked me that since this whole thing started? Every other minute, every other question out of your mouth is asking if I'm okay! You don't have to treat me like Stross! I'm fine!"

I was floored. Really, I was. Where was _this _coming from? "O…kay," I began cautiously, raising my hands into the air, "Is there a problem here?" Although I liked to think I had changed for the better since the _Ishimura _and Aegis 7, I was still not one to shy away from a potential confrontation. And this seemed like it could blow up really fast if we didn't work it out.

"No," Isaac answered, "I told you before not to worry about me. I'm not Stross. I can take care of myself. I don't need you to keep tabs on me all the time."

"Really?" I retorted, and I knew I was going to regret this, "You can take care of all those visions of Nicole? She's the reason you haven't mentioned anything since the Solar Array, isn't she? You saw her again, didn't you? Why is she showing up more and more for you, anyway? Is there something you're not telling me?"

In a sudden burst of fury, Isaac whirled around to face me and pointed at me. "Don't…even…_think _about it, Stamford," he hissed, and although I was startled for sure, I wouldn't back down yet.

"Stamford?" I echoed, laughing and shaking my head, "Since when do you call me Stamford, _Clarke_?"

"I'm warning you! Back off! _Don't _mention her name in front of me again!"

"Fine with me, _Clarke,_" I decided, "But just remember that I was only trying to help." And with that, we set off on our way, though there was an uncomfortable silence all around us. I did feel bad for what I had said, I found. Maybe I had gone too far, but it was too late to take the words back. I was surprised at myself; I hadn't been that vicious since before the _Ishimura. _Oh, well. This mission was going to be awkward.

I moved ahead of Isaac as we went to go meet Ellie and Nolan, and I suddenly heard him mutter something else so quietly that I almost didn't catch it. Almost.

"You have no idea," he said.

* * *

"Isaac! Timmy, over here!" Ellie cried out to us once we finally did meet up with her and Nolan a few minutes later, "This must have been the last stand for whoever was left down here."

Ignoring me, Isaac approached the window and faced Ellie while I kept an eye on Nolan, who was looking around anxiously. "Can you get the door open on your end?" he asked, his voice betraying his annoyance from before. I looked away in guilt.

"No," Ellie reported, "The circuits are fried. They must have fused the panel trying to keep those things out."

"There has to be another way in."

"The only way around is through the processing plant, but it's not meant for human traffic. I think I can stop it from here, though."

While Isaac and Ellie continued talking, I focused my gaze on Nolan again, who was muttering something about "The Steps" again. "Step Four…" he mumbled to himself, which piqued my interest. We had only heard the first two steps. What were the last two?

"Hey, Nolan," I began, tapping on the glass, "Hey." He looked up.

"Oh, h-hi, Timmy," he stammered in response.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, figuring that someone _else _wouldn't care if I was expressing concern. Nolan shook where he stood, but didn't answer, so I took a deep breath as I continued.

"Care to repeat what you were saying just now?" I asked, "What are the last two steps?"

"The steps," Nolan whispered to himself, "She wants me to follow the steps."

"Yes, she does," I said encouragingly, "She just has to know what they are."

"The steps, Timmy!" Nolan insisted, "The steps!"

"Hold it together, Stross," Isaac said to him, "We'll be there soon."

I had to laugh to myself. "We'll be there soon"? I thought he was still mad at me. He probably was, but we were in this together whether we liked it or not. Going through the next door, we took down a few Necromorphs before proceeding through the process plant itself. Neither one of us spoke to each other, which surprised me. In the past, we had been able to get around other arguments we had gotten into fairly quickly, but this one was starting to worry me. Why had he snapped at me for being concerned about him? _Was _I being too patronizing without even realizing it? I realized I _had _asked him if he was okay a lot, and I supposed I could see why it had gotten on his nerves, but _still._ I didn't want him to end up like Nolan Stross.

I was so lost in thought that I barely heard the words Isaac and Ellie were exchanging about gaining access into the plant, but as soon as Isaac began to fly into the chamber, I decided to follow him. The next few areas were quiet, and I had to comment. "This seems too easy," I whispered to myself more than to Isaac.

I had spoken too soon; suddenly, alarms began to ring, and the spiral blades in front of us began to spin. "Way to go, Timmy," Isaac hissed, and I glared at him.

Adding to our luck in that moment, Tiedemann appeared and began to transmit a message to us. "_Clarke, Stamford,_" he began, "_There you are. I see your friend has powered off the facility. Remind me to thank her for providing me with your location. I've locked the processing cycle on, and you two in with it. It ends here._"

"It doesn't have to be this way, Tiedemann!" Isaac snapped.

"_It does, and it is,"_ Tiedemann replied, "_Goodbye, Clarke._" He disappeared.

"Asshole," I fumed to myself as Isaac used Stasis to guide us through the next few sets of traps and Necromorphs. There were still no words exchanged between the two of us, but that was fine with me.

"Ellie?" Isaac said into the communicator as he continued to ignore me, "Can't you shut these things off?"

"_No!_" Ellie replied, "_Somehow, Tiedemann declared me dead in the system. Now my codes don't work anymore!_"

"You're kidding!" Isaac gasped.

"_Oh, shit. Something's coming! Stross, help me with the door!_"

"_I need you to see him. I need you to follow the steps!_"

"_What? No! Just shut up and help me, God damn it! AHH!_"

"Ellie? Ellie!" Isaac shouted, but the message went dead after that. Peeking out of the corner of my eye, I could sense how worried Isaac was about her, and I couldn't just ignore it. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would have said that there was some kind of attraction between them. They were both CEC, after all, and Isaac seemed comfortable talking to Ellie. But no; Nicole was still on his mind. I knew it, even if he didn't want to talk to me about her.

We continued on in silence as we flew through the next few tunnels and eventually encountered a Necromorph similar to the one we had spotted up at the Solar Array. Once that was down, we flew through to the exit and finally made it to the other side where Ellie and Nolan had been after we neutralized a crawling Stalker.

"Whoa, whoa, hey! Hey!" Isaac cried as Ellie pointed her Plasma Cutter at us.

"It's just us, Ellie," I said to her, marking the first time I had spoken in a while.

"Oh, God, you two!" she gasped, "Glad to see you've got all your parts!" She moved to stand close to Isaac as she grinned, and I picked up on the chemistry again.

"You all right?" Isaac asked her gently.

"Umm…yeah!" Ellie replied, "No thanks to twitchy here!" She pointed at Nolan, and I shook my head and closed my eyes.

"There are four steps," Nolan muttered to himself as he sat in a fetal position and rocked back and forth, "One, two, three, four. Step Four: She'll be waiting." Ellie, Isaac, and I moved close to him to check on him.

"Jesus, Stross," Isaac quipped, "You okay?"

"Oh, sure," I whispered to myself, "It's okay when you're not the one being showered with concern." Isaac glared at me, and I returned the hostile look.

"Is everything all right with you two?" Ellie asked, raising an eyebrow, "We don't need everyone getting jumpy here." We both shrugged, and Ellie shrugged as well as she turned her attention back to Stross.

"It's getting worse," she commented.

"What is step four?" Isaac asked him, "Who will be waiting?"

Nolan continued to cradle himself on the floor. He looked so helpless, and I felt sorry for him. "After the screws…after the needle," he explained, "She'll be waiting."

"Screws?" I asked, "Needles? Why don't I like the sound of this?"

"He's not going to make it," Isaac said, "We've got to keep moving."

Ellie pointed out the window. "There's an industrial transport upstairs. Runs on the same spoke as the commuter train. It should get us to the government sector. One of us will have to deploy it from the gear house." Almost instinctively, Ellie, Nolan, and I all glanced at Isaac.

"I guess I'll go ahead," he decided, "Stay here and…uh…try to get him on his feet." He slipped his helmet back on, and I glanced from him to Ellie and Nolan as I tried to decide whether I should stay or go.

"Go with him, Timmy," Ellie ordered, pointing at me, "Whatever happened before, you need to work it out."

"All right," I decided, reluctantly getting up from my place next to Nolan as I followed Isaac out of the room. This was going to be interesting.


	10. Rediscovery

Woohoo! Here's the next chapter! :) Thanks again for all the support on this story! And don't be afraid to ask questions about anything pertaining to the story. I don't bite! ;) With that in mind, enjoy this next chapter, which is pretty much a filler chapter, but still a chapter all the same.

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as any dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

**WARNING: **Spoilers!

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions and Isaac's POV

* * *

_Everything was spiraling out of control. _

_ After leaving Ellie and Stross behind, Timmy and I went outside to go deploy the industrial transport, but it was awkward after our fight from before. For some reason, Ellie wanted him to help me, but I didn't want his help. I knew what I had to do, and I was going to destroy the Marker with or without him. _

_ Neither one of us spoke to each other, which was fine with me; what he said about Nicole was completely out of line. I knew he was bold, but I never thought he would throw out a comment like that. How dare he? _

_ In fact, how dare he disappear for three years and then suddenly return, thinking I all of a sudden needed his help? I realized that was why I had finally gotten mad at him, more so than the fact that he really was only just trying to help. He meant well. I knew that, but the way he was going about it was all wrong._

_ After killing some Leapers that were in the area, we headed over to the cargo lift in the corner of the room, where I suddenly began to hear Nicole's voice again, speaking of her. _

_ "We only had two years together, Isaac," she whispered, "Two years, but they were the best years of my life. I was happy. I had everything I wanted. Until you made me doubt myself." I shook my head while Timmy wasn't looking. The horrible, stomach-twisting guilt was returning. The guilt I had tried to suppress for a long time and that had, partially thanks to Timmy, returned. Not that he knew he was guilt-tripping me, but still. _

_ From next to me, I could hear Timmy burning some Necromorphs with the flamethrower, and I snapped back to attention. Taking out the Plasma Cutter, I dismembered the few that were in front of me as well. Once the siege was over, Timmy refueled his flamethrower and sighed. _

_ "Okay, this is ridiculous," he growled, "We can't keep fighting like this." _

_ "Then don't instigate anything," I replied simply, moving past him, "Simple as that." _

_ Timmy shook his head and laughed humorlessly. "You are way off base on this one, Isaac," he replied, "Way off base. If I remember correctly, you started something with me this time. I barely got my sentence out and you fucking jumped down my throat." _

_ "Well, you shouldn't have mentioned…you know who. Maybe I started it, but you took it to another level, like you always do." _

_ "I was only trying to help! You know that." _

_ Staring down at my Plasma Cutter, I sighed. "Timmy," I began, "There are some things you can't help me with. This is one of them." _

_ "What are you talking about?" he asked. _

_ "You wouldn't understand what it's like to constantly hear voices in your head," I told him, looking away. It was true; back on the Ishimura, he had surprisingly remained somewhat sound-minded the entire time, with the exception of a few instances towards the end of the adventure. I had to admit I envied him a little bit for that. How did he do it? _

_ To my surprise, he laughed harshly again. _

_ "Once again, you're way off base," he replied, "I'm not somehow immune to the Marker. I wasn't on the Ishimura and I'm not now." That was creepy; it was almost like he had just read my mind. _

_ "What's that supposed to mean? Have you been hearing voices, too?" _

_ "Are you kidding?" Timmy asked, "As a matter of fact, I have. That's what happened during the tram incident." _

_ "I don't believe you," I said as we continued on our way. If he was hearing voices, he sure didn't act like it. Believe me; I knew the signs better than anyone else. _

_ "At least you hear someone you love," Timmy pointed out, "You want to know who _I _hear? Challus fucking Mercer, that's who!" _

_ "Challus Mercer?" I echoed, and Timmy nodded insistently. _

_ "You remember him, don't you?" he asked, "That bastard almost turned me into a fucking Necromorph! Remember this?" At that, he removed a part of his armor until the scars he carried on his arms were visible. _

_ "Timmy," I started, but he cut me off. _

_ "But I guess I wouldn't understand," he growled, "Right? You're wrong, Isaac. So wrong." Shaking his head, he walked off. I was surprised, to be honest; I had thought he would apologize for bringing up Nicole again, but it seemed like he wasn't apologizing for shit this time. This time, he was mad at me instead of the other way around. _

_ Whatever. This was unimportant compared to the mission at hand, so we continued on in silence. Thankfully, there was a Store in this area, so we decided to stock up on more ammo and health before continuing through the door. On the other side, a very familiar Necromorph was waiting for us. _

_ "A Divider," I whispered to myself, striking it with the Line Gun while Timmy used the flamethrower to take care of the Components it had split up into. I was surprised these Necromorphs were around again; back on the _Ishimura, _they had moaned really loudly from a mile away before attacking, but this time, not so much. _

_ Once the Divider and the following components were vanquished, Timmy and I continued in silence, riding the elevator in the corner up to the next floor, where even more Necromorphs greeted us. The familiar howl of the Exploder caught our attention, and when that was down, we reloaded our weapons and moved on from there. I slowed down to a creeping pace when we arrived in the next hallway. _

_ "Why would I choose the _Ishimura _over you?" Nicole's voice echoed in my head, "You said I'd regret passing up the chance, that the choice would haunt me forever. It was almost as if you wanted me to leave." My Pulse Rifle shook in my hands as I tried to block out the voice again. _Don't listen to her, Isaac,_ I chided myself, _She's not really speaking to you right now._ God, why was this happening to me? _

_ Suddenly, I heard another wail, and Timmy suddenly reached out, grabbed my arm, and yanked me back. "What are you doing?" I asked, facing him. _

_ Timmy pointed to the Mature Guardian up ahead. "You were getting too close," he said, "I didn't think you wanted to lose your head. You were about to walk right into that thing." _

_ "Oh," I replied as I picked up a canister and hurled it towards the Guardian, "Thanks." Timmy nodded and moved on to pick up the Gold Semiconductor that the Guardian had dropped. _

_ Nicole began to speak to me again when we got on the elevator right next to where the Guardian had been. "And when you received my final transmission," she snarled, "You couldn't bear to watch the end, could you? You knew what had happened, yet you went looking for me anyway. You knew deep down, all you would find was death." _

_ God damn it! Why did these voices have to remind me of the weight I carried on my shoulders? It was bad enough that I was caught in the middle of a war. I didn't need my guilt to catch up with me, too. Some of what the voices said were true. I admitted it. But still. _

_ Up ahead, a few more Necromorphs appeared to try and kill us, and as Timmy ran ahead to take care of them, I stopped and watched him as another voice crept into my head. _

_ "You accused Timmy of lying?" Nicole continued maliciously, "You didn't tell him the truth about us on the _Ishimura. _Do you remember that? What were you trying to accomplish, Isaac? Were you trying to make yourself look better? Did you think the guilt would go away? You're pushing him away every minute. Soon, you won't have anybody anymore, not even those other two survivors you consider your friends. Nobody but your own, dark feelings." _

_ "Fuck," I cursed out loud to myself, and up ahead, Timmy turned around, glanced over his shoulder at me for a split second, and then continued into the room up ahead in silence. _

_ "See?" Nicole taunted, "What did I tell you? He's not concerned about you anymore. Nobody is, and nobody ever will be. And it's all because of you." _

_ "Shut up," I hiss under my breath, and once the voices were gone, I followed Timmy into the room in front of us, and I caught him staring at a door with the Kinesis symbol on it. _

_ "So," he began quietly, "Think you can use some of that sweet Kinesis to get past this?" _

_ When I did use Kinesis, however, the door shut once again, making us both realize I had to use Stasis as well. And so I did that, and once I was finished, I noticed some pieces that could be pulled out with Kinesis as well, and I used those to fix the power grid so that we could activate the transport. _

_ "Nice," Timmy commented to himself, "Now, we can finally get out of here. I'm sure the Necromorphs will be disappointed." So he was starting to joke around again. Why? _

_ "Why are you doing this?" I asked him, "You always act like either nothing happened or nothing's wrong." _

_ Timmy shrugged. "I'm focusing on the task at hand," he said, "That's all that matters now. The sooner we get to the Government Sector, the better." He moved towards the control panel, which was the next place we had to go. In the neutral tone of voice he used, I had to wonder if what the voices said before were beginning to hold true. I hoped not. _

_ Moving forward, I activated the control panel, and both of us watched as the tram's engines flared to life. "All right," I announced to Ellie, "We've released the transport. Meet us at the landing." _

_ "_We'll be right there," _Ellie replied, "_Stross, come on! Come on!" _She signed off just as two Necromorphs burst into the room. Timmy and I quickly took care of them before moving onto the tram itself. Timmy removed his helmet just as I did the same, and I found the control panel geared towards lowering the tram, and as I did that, my head began to hurt, like it always did when I suffered from the sickness. Turning around, a familiar sight greeted me. _

_ "Why did you come looking for me if you knew I was dead, Isaac?" Nicole hissed, "Did you think I would forgive you?" _

_ That was it. I wasn't going to listen to this anymore, and I didn't give a damn if Timmy thought I was losing it. "Get out of my head!" I snapped, "You're not Nicole!" For a second, Timmy looked startled, but then his face returned to its neutral expression. _

_ Nicole calmly sauntered towards me, and when she was close enough, she leaned in close to me. "WHO AM I, ISAAC?" she suddenly shrieked, and just like that, she disappeared. _

_ "AHH!" I gasped, throwing my hand up in front of my face until the hallucination was over. Shaking my head, I turned back to the control panel and just stared at it without really staring at it. _

_ "Isaac," Timmy suddenly piped up from behind me, "I've been doing some thinking. Maybe you were right a little bit. Maybe I was sort of babying you a little too much, and I'm sorry. I thought that was the right thing to do to be a good friend. Bringing Nicole up wasn't right on my part, either, so I'm sorry for that, too. I was just confused before, but I didn't mean anything I said." I didn't reply right away, but kept my head down all the same. _

_ "Isaac?" Timmy asked a little more insistently, "You can't be serious right now." _

_ "Timmy," I replied, resting my hands on the control panel, "There's something I didn't tell you on the _Ishimura._" _

_ "What are you talking about?" he asked, standing up from his seat, but before I could continue, the tram stopped, and Ellie and Stross stood outside waiting for us. Timmy quickly ran to the door and pressed the button to open it and let them in. _

_ "Hey, you two made it," Ellie said with relief as she and Stross entered the tram. Once they were situated, we continued on our way. _

* * *

If I had to take my pick on what I was confused about the most, I would have to choose either when Isaac started mumbling to himself or when he said there was something he didn't tell me on the _Ishimura._ I realized I had come across as aloof to him, but he was the one who told me not to ask if he was okay, so to respect that, I wouldn't. Needless to say, I was still really worried about him. Granted, I was still a little annoyed with the fact that he had snapped at me, but I knew we would have to stop arguing if we wanted to get out of this alive. What didn't he tell me on the _Ishimura_?

"He's staring at me, Isaac," Nolan whispered to Isaac while Ellie took command of the control panel, "Through the holes in his head."

"Stross, listen to me," Isaac tried to say in a calm voice, "Listen to me."

But Nolan wouldn't listen. Instead, he flicked his gaze to me, where I stood watching this exchange. "Stop staring at me!" he snapped, clutching his bandaged arm and narrowing his eyes at me, "Stop it!"

"Relax, _relax_!" Isaac coaxed, raising his voice slightly as Nolan continued to glare at me. He moved over to the seats in the corner and sat down, looking up every now and then to give me a death stare.

"Sorry, Nolan," I tried to apologize as I raised my hands in the air, "I didn't mean to stare at you."

"I knew it," Nolan mumbled to himself, "You're becoming just like all the others. Just like…like _her_!"

_Now _he was crossing into dangerous territory. "Don't go there, Stross," I warned, "If you mention Alex again…" I trailed off, unable to finish the threat. Alex. I had almost forgotten her at this point, what with everything else that was going on.

"Isaac, Timmy!" Ellie piped up, glancing over her shoulder at us, "We have to get out of here."

"Right," Isaac sighed, "Let's go." And we were off once again. As we traveled downwards, I glanced over at Nolan again, who was cradling himself, and I decided to approach him.

"Hey, Nolan," I began, taking a deep breath as Patient Five glared at me again.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, "I get the feeling you don't trust me. Is there a reason for that?"

Before he could answer, Isaac suddenly looked up and gasped. "Oh, my, God!" he petitioned, "It can't be!"

"What?" I asked anxiously, forgetting about Isaac and I's fight for a minute, "What is it, Isaac?"

"That's the _Ishimura_!" he gasped, "Here, come look, Timmy!"

"_What?_" I cried, abandoning Nolan for a minute to stand next to the engineer. Sure enough, there was the _USG Ishimura _in all its wrecked glory.

"You weren't kidding!" I whispered, "How the hell did the _Ishimura _end up here? Last time I checked, it was still floating by Aegis 7!"

"I don't know," Isaac replied, "But I never thought I would see that ship again." Instant flashbacks played in my mind as I stared at the large planet-cracker.

"Yeah," Ellie sighed, "Used to be the pride of the CEC. Sad story, actually. I heard everybody on board died. Some sort of terrorist attack."

Both Isaac and I gaped at Ellie. "What?" Isaac asked, "Terrorist attack?"

"Yeah," Ellie answered, "What's wrong?"

"Boy, someone got their facts wrong," I commented.

"He's right. What happened on board that ship was no terrorist attack," Isaac explained.

"What do you mean?" Ellie questioned.

"That's where all this started, Ellie. Everything that's happening here happened on that ship. We saw it. We were on board when it…it happened." At that point, the tram suddenly started to rock back and forth, and the three of us lost our footing.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath.

"What's happening?" Isaac asked.

"I…I don't know!" Ellie stammered, "Something must be blocking the track!"

"Stay here," Isaac ordered, "We'll take a look. Come on, Timmy." He slipped his helmet back on, and I did the same as I followed him off the tram.

"I guess you two are back to normal now," Ellie commented as she watched Isaac leave.

"As normal as we can get," I replied, "We'll be right back." Ellie nodded, and as I turned to leave, I caught Nolan muttering to himself.

"I-I've got my eye on you, Timmy," he whispered, and I picked up my pace a little bit. What was his problem with me all of a sudden?

* * *

"I'm beginning to hate rooms with crates," I commented a little while later once Isaac and I were finished moving through this room filled to the brim with Stalkers. After killing the Guardian up ahead as well, we continued to move quickly through the hallways. Although there was clearly still tension from the fight, things were slowly going back to the way they were. Maybe we had finally reached some common ground at last.

"At least you're more aware of your surroundings," Isaac replied.

"True," I said, "But I still hate Stalkers." Shaking my head, I typed some information into the Save Station before moving on. Isaac quickly stopped at the Store and then he joined up with me.

"Ellie!" Isaac cried, "There's a giant tentacle blocking the transport door. It's wrapped around a giant tank."

"_A big tank?_" Ellie replied, "_Nitrogen trichloride. Those explode if they overheat!_"

"Perfect," Isaac replied as he began using Kinesis to hurl canisters at the tank. I just watched in silence as he took care of everything, and once he managed to blow up the tank, Ellie contacted us again.

"_That worked. We're moving again. We'll wait for you two up ahead." _

"All right, we see you. We'll meet you there." I followed Isaac onto the cargo lift as we descended into a circular arena-type place.

"Look, another tank!" I cried, pointing to it, and shaking his head, Isaac got in touch with Ellie again.

"Okay, Ellie!" Isaac cried, "Get ready! One more!"

"_What? Are you crazy? That one in the middle? If you set that one off, it'll incinerate everything in here!_"

"Yes, it will. Tell Stross to hold on. Here we go!"

_Thump, thump. _What was that? Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I raised my upgraded flamethrower, where the flame was blue now instead of orange, as I anticipated some kind of ambush. After Isaac used one canister to hit the tank, a large Tripod not unlike the one we had fought outside the hospital appeared. "Shit, Isaac!" I cursed, "The Tripod's back!"

"Move!" Isaac ordered, and using Stasis on the Tripod, he moved forward and began to shoot at the yellow bulbs on its arms in order to bring it down. Once it was down, Isaac stepped on the corpse in order to collect the item stored in the body.

"That was too easy," the engineer whispered, and just as he spoke, Ellie suddenly gasped.

"_Look out!_" she cried, "_There's more coming from the holes in the walls!_"

"Crap!" I moaned as another Tripod burst from a hole in the far corner, roared, and stomped around the room as it tried to swipe at us. I felt its claw barely graze my chest, and I had to leap back as I used the alternate fire on the flamethrower. Isaac took out the other arm while I finished off the Necromorph. Once it was down, Isaac hurled another canister at the tank, slowly blowing it up as more Tripods jumped into the room. We found we were having a tough time trying to get rid of all these Necromorphs while blowing up the tank as well.

By the time the tank started flashing yellow, I found I was in trouble. I was slowly running out of flame fuel, and I was trying to cover for Isaac while attempting to not get myself killed as well. One of the Tripods swiped at me, effectively cutting me across the chest. "Fuck," I hissed to myself as I quickly healed and continued with my attacks.

"Get out of the way!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Isaac hurl some more Stasis at the Tripod, but something felt weird. I tried to move out of the way, but I found I was moving much slower than usual. Then I realized; Isaac had accidentally hit me with the same Stasis!

_Come on, come on! _I thought desperately, _Wear off! _But it didn't wear off right away since Isaac had upgraded his Stasis Module recently. I felt slight pain course through me as I tried to fight the Stasis, but once it did wear off, I felt much weaker than I did before the fight.

"Timmy!" Isaac shouted, "I told you to move! Are you okay?"

"Sorry, Isaac," I croaked in response as I dragged myself across the floor, "I'll be fine, though." I didn't know how the Necromorphs recovered so fast, but I couldn't get used to moving at a normal speed again. I spotted another Tripod leap out into the arena as it plowed towards me, the weaker target. I feebly reached for my flamethrower, but the Tripod was getting closer. Oh, God. This was the end. I closed my eyes as I waited for death.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a machine-gun type weapon above me while the Tripod was slowed down from the Stasis, but I was confused; it wasn't Isaac, who was using his Javelin Gun to zero in on one of the spots. As I repeatedly closed and opened my eyes, I felt someone grab me by the arms and drag me out of harm's way. In the middle of the chaos, my helmet slipped off, and when I looked up, I spotted someone in a Security Suit not unlike the EarthGov ones. _Wait a minute! _I thought, _EarthGov! _

"Let me go, you bastard!" I snapped, struggling in the agent's grip, "Isaac! EarthGov found us!"

After blowing up more of the tank, which was now flashing red, Isaac glanced over at us, raised his Pulse Rifle, and began to shoot at the agent. "Stay away from him!" the engineer snapped. The person in the suit dodged the bullets and then reached for the same machine gun from before, shooting in Isaac's general direction, but also at the next Tripod that appeared.

Whirling around, Isaac used Stasis once again to slow down the Tripod as he dismembered its limbs. Just before it went down, however, it swiped at the EarthGov agent, and the agent went flying across the room with a distorted scream. As I slowly began to recover, I picked myself up and ran over to the agent as Isaac used one last canister to finish the job on the tank.

"_This whole place is going to blow!_" Ellie screamed through the communicator, "_Get up here fast! Isaac! Timmy!_"

"We're on our way!" Isaac replied as everything began to explode around us. As we turned to leave, I suddenly heard moans of pain, and when I turned, I saw the EarthGov agent struggling to sit up. Curious, I ran over to the agent while I heard Isaac scream at me from the elevator.

"TIMMY!" he shouted, "Come on, let's go!"

But I got the biggest surprise of my life. Running even faster, I knelt down next to the agent, whose back was turned to me, but once I gently turned the body towards me, I gasped as I recognized the face.

"_Alex!_"


	11. Entering the Past

Wow, this has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written on fanfiction, but there was so much good material for it that I couldn't resist! I found this chapter a little hard to write in some places, but I hope you enjoy it all the same! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy and Alex are mine. Everyone else, including dialogue from audio and video logs, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. All other gameplay descriptions are mine.

**WARNING: **Spoilers! (I'm very adamant about this warning for this chapter, seeing as how this part was unfortunately spoiled for me by someone in real life.)

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions and Isaac's POV

* * *

"T-Timmy?" Alex gasped as she opened her eyes to glance up at me, "Timmy, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," I whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"TIMMY!" Isaac shouted again, pulling me back to the situation at hand.

"I'll explain everything later," Alex choked, "We've got to get out of here."

"_Timmy, what are you doing?_" Ellie suddenly snapped from her end, "_Come on!_"

Kneeling down again, I picked Alex up and told her, "You're coming with us. Just hold on tight." She moaned in pain again as we raced towards the elevator. From our right, another Tripod appeared, making me pick up the pace even more. By the time we reached the elevator, Isaac hurried us on and pressed the button to go up.

"What took you so long?" he demanded, and I gestured to the girl I was carrying in my arms. Isaac gasped when he recognized who she was.

"_Alex?_" he cried.

Closing her eyes and wincing in pain again, Alex grinned wryly. "Surprise," she croaked, "Hi, Isaac." Isaac gripped his Pulse Rifle tightly in his hands, and I knew that was the signature "I'm going to fucking kill you" stance he always got around people who betrayed us. Not that I could blame him; Alex _had _said some pretty fucked up things back at the Church. I just couldn't believe she was finally back. But how did she get here?

"This way!" Isaac cried, directing us to the shuttle, and Alex closed her eyes and clutched her chest in agony as we finally made it to the tram. Once we were all safely inside, I knelt down and placed Alex on the floor just as Isaac grabbed onto a safety bar.

"Ugh!" he groaned, "Go, go, go!" Nodding frantically, Ellie began to pilot us out of there while Alex cried out in pain. Nobody paid attention to us for now as we tried to make our escape.

"Faster, Ellie!" Isaac yelled, "Faster!"

"I can't make it go any faster!" Ellie replied, aghast.

"Oh, God," Isaac gasped, "Come on." We all held our breaths as we escaped from this area. For the first time in a long time, I couldn't think of anything to say, except that I hoped we would make it out alive. The white light in front of us glowed brighter and brighter until we were forced to cover our eyes. I glanced over at Nolan, who was surprisingly silent and calm throughout this ordeal. I had fully expected him to be freaking out at this point. I then flicked my gaze to Alex, who was repeatedly closing and opening her eyes again. Oh, God. I had brought her onto a tram with people who didn't like her. What did this mean for us?

Once we had finally escaped from the facility, Isaac and I both removed our helmets again, and Isaac looked around. "Is everyone okay?" he asked in a hoarse voice. Ellie and I just nodded, and Nolan continued to scratch his bandaged arms.

Alex broke the short silence that followed by moaning again, and Isaac whirled around and glared at her. Gripping his Pulse Rifle again, he marched over to where we were kneeling, and Ellie and Nolan watched with curiosity.

"Timmy?" Ellie asked skeptically, "Who's she?"

Leaning forward in his seat, Nolan stared at Alex's face, and his expression changed upon recognizing her. "You!" he gasped, leaping up and beginning to stomp towards us as well, but Isaac beat him to it.

Grabbing Alex by the shoulders, the engineer lifted her up from the ground and snapped, "You _Marker Head!_ What are you doing here? Why are you back? Why did you lead us right into Daina's hands?"

I had to gasp. I knew Isaac hated Unitology, but I didn't think he would go _that _far. I assumed "Marker Head" was an insult, given the tone he had used with it.

"I-I told you she was bad news," Nolan added in agreement, "S-she helped give us the drugs!"

"Shut up, Stross," Alex snapped as well, wincing in pain again, "You don't have to remind me of what I did."

"What _are _you doing back here?" I pressed while Ellie moved forward to study the Unitologist in front of us, as well as keep an eye on Nolan, "You disappeared after EarthGov assaulted the Church. You almost handed us over to Daina and her goons! Why did you do that, Alex? Why'd you lie to me for three months?"

"If you stop firing question after question at me, I'll explain everything to you," Alex answered, wincing again. Ellie looked suspicious, but she moved forward anyway, gently took Alex by the shoulder, and turned her around to peer at her RIG, which was beginning to flash red.

"I don't know who you are," she began, "But if we heal you, will you tell us everything?"

"Yes," Alex confirmed, nodding insistently, "God, that Tripod was aggressive. Like the one outside the hospital."

"It should have killed you instead for what you did," Isaac fumed, "I don't know why you brought her on board with us, Timmy."

I sighed. "Neither do I," I retorted, "But she's here now."

* * *

_**A few minutes later…**_

"AHH!" Alex gasped as Ellie continued to stitch up a rather nasty gash across her chest.

"Try and stay still," Ellie ordered, "I'm no medic, but this is the best I can do for now with some of our limited health supplies."

"No," Alex sighed, "It's okay. Thank you, Ellie. You're the only one here who doesn't want to kill me right now." I sighed to myself, and to distract myself from the upcoming drama, I watched as Alex's RIG slowly went from red to yellow again. Isaac and I stood on either side of Ellie while she dressed Alex's wounds, and Nolan remained on his same seat from before, cradling himself and giving Alex the same death stares he had given me. Oh, God. If he didn't like me before all this, he must have _really _hated me now.

Alex had had to remove part of her Security Suit so that Ellie could reach the major injuries, and at that point, Isaac had decided to check on our progress while I stayed by Alex's side. I glanced at the RIG again, which was now going from yellow to green over time.

Alex took a deep breath and closed her eyes again as Ellie finished patching her up. "Isaac, Timmy," she began, "I don't know what to say. Really."

"You could start by answering some of our questions from before," I pressed, "Why? Just…why?"

"God…I don't even know anymore," Alex choked, closing her eyes and clutching her bare chest again, "I guess when you believe in one thing your whole life…it just becomes your reality. That's what Unitology did for me. I just thought if I had something to believe in…" She trailed off, sighed, and continued.

"Daina was a family friend," she explained, sitting up to face all of us, "Even though my parents never bought into Unitology and I had a slight interest in it. Remember that accident I told you about with my leg? It was a tram accident not unlike the trams we went on earlier. My entire family was killed that day, but I somehow managed to make it out with a broken leg, and…well, you know the rest." She closed her eyes again and took another deep breath.

"After that, Daina took me in and raised me as if I were her own daughter, and from then on, she pretty much hammered Unitology home. For years, I grew up believing in Convergence, and at one point, she told me that moving on to the next life through Convergence would be the best way to see my family again. And I believed her. I wholeheartedly believed her until you came along, Isaac." She glanced over at the engineer, whose back was turned to us.

"You're blaming me?" he growled.

"No," Alex said, shaking her head, "Daina told me to spy on the EarthGov for her once we realized the rumors about you were true. She wanted to know more about their project, and who would suspect an innocent intern of being a spy, right?"

"So Daina was telling the truth about that…" I mumbled.

"Yes, she was," Alex confirmed, "I know you all think I'm an evil bitch, and I totally get that, but-"

"You gave us the drugs!" Nolan suddenly piped up, glaring at Alex again.

Slipping her Security Suit on over her chest once again, Alex sat up to face him. "You think I wanted to help drug you?" she asked, "I didn't want to do it, but it was necessary for the job. I couldn't let them know I was a double agent."

"That doesn't change the fact that you still knowingly took part in it," Isaac added.

"No, it doesn't," Alex agreed, "But I didn't agree with everything that hospital was doing. But anyway, before Stross interrupted me, I was going to say that you made me start to think about Unitology, Isaac. And Convergence.

"I've been a strong believer since I was little, but with this Necromorph outbreak and some of your episodes, Isaac, I began to wonder if Convergence and the Marker were really worth it. I think the incident where you…umm…almost committed suicide made me really see that Daina was being selfish. I couldn't let her know that, of course, so that's why…" She trailed off.

"You were a complete bitch at the Church," I finished for her.

"To put it bluntly, yes," Alex sighed.

"Your point?" Isaac asked while Ellie gathered up all the medical supplies.

"Look, you guys don't have to like me," Alex said, "But we all hate Tiedemann and agree that he needs to be stopped, right?"

Before any of us could answer, a video log suddenly popped up in front of Isaac, and we saw it was Tiedemann, as if Alex had summoned him here. "_In another situation,_" he began as we all looked up at the screen, "_I might admire your persistence, Mr. Clarke. But this is bigger than you and bigger than the lives of everyone on this station._" Next to him, another EarthGov agent approached him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"_Sir, final preparations for evac are wrapping up,_" he announced. Tiedemann looked away and shook his head.

"_It looks like it ends here,_" he said, "_At this point, it's all just…dead weight._"

"Asshole," Alex hissed under her breath, "You pompous, pompous _asshole_!" I had to smirk to myself; she took the words right out of my mouth.

"_Ahh, Adams,_" Tiedemann continued, "_I see you've joined Clarke and his group. Rest assured that you will be severely punished for your treachery._"

"It was not against _you_, Tiedemann," Alex replied, but Tiedemann was gone, and I knew I would have to ask her about that in a bit.

"Isaac?" Ellie asked, "What does he mean? What did he mean when he said 'dead weight'?"

"I guess he's going to leave us here to die," Isaac piped up bitterly, but before any of us could respond further, we looked out the window and saw the beam from the solar array.

"Look!" I cried, pointing.

"He's using the beam!" Isaac gasped, "We have to stop the transport! Now!"

Ellie quickly took control of the transport again as she cursed, "Oh, _shit!_" She quickly stopped as the beam of light blinded us again, and we fell all over ourselves trying to regain our composure as the light disappeared.

"Christ, that was close," I sighed as Alex and I sat up on the bench opposite from Nolan.

"He…he cut the station in half!" Ellie cried, "There's no track to get across on!"

"Damn it," I hissed to myself.

But Isaac looked deep in thought. "Back us up," he ordered, "Back us up to that station!"

"_What? _Why?"

"Just do it, Ellie! Hurry!" Ellie seemed unsure about this, but she did so anyway, and I couldn't help but reflect on how this time, Isaac was giving the orders instead of the other way around. With a lurch, we backed up just as the _Ishimura _came into view. Now, I could see where Isaac was going with all of this.

"Isaac?" I asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"The _Ishimura_," he began, "If the gravity tethers are still functional, I can-"

"You can snare Gov Sec and drag it back," Ellie finished frantically, "Isaac, this is ridiculous!" I thought about putting my two cents in, but then decided against it. Let Isaac and Ellie duke it out this time.

"If I can line up the tracks for a few seconds, you should be able to get the Transport across. Stay ready, and take care of Stross." He slipped his helmet back on and approached the sliding door.

"Isaac, _no!_" Ellie growled, "This is a really bad idea!"

"Stick around," Isaac replied, "I'm full of bad ideas." He marched out of the Transport while Ellie, Alex, and I all glanced at each other.

"He is the most stubborn man I've ever met," Ellie sighed, "I guess you're going with him, Timmy?"

"I guess so," I replied, "We've been through thick and thin and I couldn't back out now. I'll go, too." I slipped my helmet on as well.

Ellie then glanced at Alex. "What about you?" she asked, "Are you going, too? Or are you going to stay here?"

Alex glanced from me and Isaac to Ellie and Nolan, but she ultimately decided to put her helmet on as well. "I'll go with them, too," she decided, "I've only heard about the _Ishimura, _but I've never seen it."

"There's nothing to see," I told her, "Everything's wrecked."

"So?" Alex replied, pushing past me so that she could follow Isaac. I then turned to stare at Nolan, and I realized that Alex didn't want to be near him. He hated her more than he hated me, and who knew where that could possibly go with him?

"Good luck," Ellie said to us, and we gave her the thumbs-up as we followed Isaac through to the door up ahead.

"You two are coming?" he asked in surprise as we moved through the dark hallways leading to another mini tram.

"Y-yeah," I answered, gulping a little bit at the thought of entering the _Ishimura _again, "Did you think we would let you go by yourself after all this?"

Isaac didn't answer as we eventually disembarked from the tram and took another elevator up to a familiar setting.

"No way," I gasped, "Is this the Flight Deck?"

"Yeah," Isaac replied, "Remember? Where the _Kellion _landed? Where…where Kendra betrayed us?"

"Who could forget the 'Two-Faced Bitch'?" I quipped in response.

Shaking his head, Isaac got in touch with Ellie. "Ellie, we're in," he stammered, "There should still be a computer in the flight lounge. We…we can check the ship's status from there." He seemed more nervous than I was!

"_Are you okay?_" Ellie asked with concern, "_You sound a little nervous._"

"Last time Timmy and I were here, things didn't go so well. Look, we'll contact you soon." He hung up and sighed, and I could see his hands shake.

"I wonder if the _Valor _is still merged with the _Ishimura,_" I wondered out loud as the three of us entered the Flight Lounge.

"It probably is," Isaac responded, and then suddenly quoted, "_Isaac, get over here and hack the door pad._"

"Who said that?" I asked, "Hammond?"

"Uh huh. I remember first coming here with him and Kendra."

"Never in a million years did I think we'd end up back here."

"By Altman," Alex gasped as we looked around, "So this is the _Ishimura._"

"The _USG Ishimura,_" Isaac corrected her.

While the two of them bantered back and forth, I looked around the wrecked lounge, and in the corner, I could have sworn I saw someone standing and watching me. I had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but the person was still there.

"_Come here,_" a voice whispered, "_It's your time._"

"Timmy?" Alex asked from next to me, "What are you staring at?"

I blinked again. "Nothing," I stammered, "Nothing at all."

* * *

_The _USG Ishimura._ God, I never thought I would have to come back here, but it was our only hope of survival. I was nervous as hell, though, and I could tell Timmy was, too. He had some bad memories of this ship, too. More specifically, some bad memories of the Medical Deck. _

_ "My God," Alex whispered as we continued through the Flight Deck, "I never imagined it was this bad. I remember Daina telling me about this, but still…" _

_ "Yeah, it was horrible," Timmy agreed, "All the traumatic memories are coming back to me. Scalpels, incisions, him standing over me and preaching throughout the whole fucking ordeal." I couldn't see his face due to the helmet, but his voice sounded choked up as if he were about to cry in anger. He was a pretty tough kid from what I could gather after both our adventures, but this was the only thing that could possibly break him down. _

_ "Who?" Alex asked quietly, "Mercer?" _

_ "Don't mention his name," Timmy snapped, pointing a finger at Alex. _

_ "Sorry," she apologized quickly, and we continued to move from there. _

_ "The memories…" I whispered to myself just as I checked the data board in the distance. _

_ "_Gravity and Life Support on reserve power," _a voice announced, "_Primary systems offline. Main centrifuge offline for repairs."

_ "Damn it," I cursed to myself as I contacted Ellie, "That's what I thought." _

_ "_What?_" Ellie asked. _

_ "The gravity centrifuge is under repair. We're going to have to go down to Engineering. This should be interesting." _

_ "_Is it safe?"

_ "I don't know how it could be. I'll let you know." She signed off from there. _

_ "Engineering?" Timmy asked as we continued on our way, "Main centrifuge? Didn't we repair that the last time we were here?" _

_ "Yes," I replied, nodding at him, "But I guess someone messed around with it again and caused it to go offline." _

_ "My first experience in a vacuum and zero gravity," Timmy mumbled to himself, "I remember that!" _

_ "I remember running through this hallway from the very first Necromorph I ever faced," I said to him, "Better times, huh?" _

_ "Seems like it," Timmy replied sarcastically. At that moment, however, Nicole began to whisper to me again. _

_ "You can pretend not to be bothered," she hissed, "But being here rattles you, doesn't it, Isaac? All this plastic and tape covering the scars, trying to hide the blood and bodies so no one will ever know. But you remember what happened, no matter how deeply you try to bury it." We all climbed into the elevator and went down to the level below us, and Alex took a deep breath. _

_ "So while we're waiting to get to the next level," Timmy began, "How'd you find us? What happened to you after the assault at the Church?" _

_ "I got snatched up by Tiedemann's men in another gunship. They sent a secondary one after you two blew up the first one. Yeah. I saw the whole thing." _

_ "Did that bullet hit you on the way out?" _

_ "It did. It got me in my lame leg, too. Once Tiedemann's men picked me up, they removed the bullet and managed to actually fix the bone, too. The things technology can do these days. And after that, I began working with them to try and find you guys. Tiedemann tried to get information out of me on what the Unitologists wanted with Isaac, but I didn't tell him. Instead, I told him I was double-crossing the Unitologists and made it look like I defected to EarthGov's side. Needless to say, when he found out what I did, I ran for it. He thinks I betrayed his ass, but I didn't do shit. I was just trying to find you guys." _

_ "Well, that seemed to work," I mumbled to myself as we moved on through the Flight Deck. This next section expanded for a long time, and it was too quiet. _

_ ROAR! "Oh, no!" I hissed, "No, no, no! Not here!" _

_ "What?" Alex asked, raising her Pulse Rifle she had gotten from EarthGov. _

_ "That sounds like a Brute," Timmy whispered as well, and sure enough, it was indeed a Brute. Timmy instantly switched to his flamethrower while I used Stasis to slow down the hulking Necromorph. Once that Brute was gone, we continued on our way until we ran into another Brute, which we took down in the same fashion. That wasn't the end of the siege, though. More Necromorphs flooded into the area, which we slowly took care of before I ended up having to hack into the broken elevator in front of us. _

_ "This must have been the old tram station," I said to the others as I rewired the elevator, "But they must have demolished it to get to the different decks easier." _

_ "I was about to ask," Timmy quipped once we were on our way. _

_ "Okay, no, Ellie," I reported to Ellie, "It's not safe. But we're on our way to the centrifuge." _

_ "_Just be careful."

"_We'll call you when it's online." _

* * *

_**Many dark hallways and the second fixing of the centrifuge later…**_

_"Damn," Timmy cursed out loud as he covered his ears, "I don't remember the centrifuge being this loud. In fact, I don't remember hearing it at all." _

_ "This room's air vented into space the last time!" I shouted over the noise, "Remember when we had to hide in those alcoves down there?" _

_ "Who could forget?" Timmy replied, "That was scary as hell!" _

_ Alex remained silent the whole time as she watched the spinning centrifuge. "Come on, Alex," Timmy said to her, ushering her on as we went back the way we came. As soon as we emerged back into the hallway from before, I suddenly had a flashback to the first encounter with one of the Hive Mind's Drag Tentacles. _

_ "AHH!" I cried as I felt a sharp pain in my head, clutching myself. Both Alex and Timmy glanced at each other. _

_ "That Drag Tentacle was here," Timmy recalled, "That was why there was a big hole in the wall before, Alex." _

_ "Drag Tentacle?" she echoed. _

_ "It belonged to the Hive Mind," I explained as we retraced our steps, "It grabbed me by the ankle and tried to drag me into that hole, but I managed to shoot it so that it would let go of me." Alex shivered at the thought. _

_ As soon as we made it back into the decontamination area, however, we found ourselves being ambushed, just like the last time we had been on this ship. We all took a considerable amount of damage before the decontamination was completed, and we went to town as we collected all the items the Necromorphs had dropped onto the floor. _

_ "_Isaac, Timmy, Alex," _Ellie whispered into our communicators, "_Stross is starting to worry me. Listen…" _She stopped talking as we heard Stross mumble to himself. _

_ "…_I would never,_" he was muttering, "_I would never. But son, Daddy's not a murderer! I would never hurt you and Mommy._" _

_ "Stross!" we all shouted at the same time. _

_ "_Stross!_" Ellie also said insistently, "_He's not real!"

"Yes, he is! You can't see him because you haven't taken the steps! The needle will make you see! Step Three! Step Three!"

"Stross! Put down the screwdriver! AHH!"

"_What the fuck?" Timmy gasped from our end, "A screwdriver? Is he nuts?" _

_ "Stross!" I shouted again, "Ellie? Shit!" Both of them disappeared following that transmission. _

_ "Seriously?" Timmy asked again as we moved on, "A screwdriver? Where the hell did he get a screwdriver? Maybe Daina was right about him." _

_ "I hope Ellie's okay," Alex said, "What the hell is Stross thinking?" _

_ "You should know," I said to her, "You worked on his case, too." _

_ "They didn't tell me everything!" Alex insisted. _

_ "Jesus, Stross," I said to myself, "Don't do anything stupid." _

_ By the time we were back in the tram station and boarded on the tram, Ellie contacted us again. "_Aw, you guys," _she groaned, "_Damn it, that hurts. The bastard bit me!_" _

_ "What?" I gasped, "Oh, shit. Are you okay?" _

_ "_Yeah, I'm fine. But he's stopped talking and he won't look at me. How's it going on your end? And please tell me this plan is going to work!"

"_We're almost there. We're heading to the Bridge now to activate the gravity tethers." _

_ "_Well, good. They're swarming in through a hole in the Medical Deck. At least you won't have to go through there."

_ Suddenly, a voice announced out of nowhere, "_Unexpected obstruction ahead. Shutting down. Welcome to the Medical Deck_." _

_ "Fucking A!" Timmy suddenly thundered out loud, pounding one of the seats in the corner, "This is the last fucking place we should be right now! I was hoping we wouldn't have to come here!" Alex rested a comforting hand on his arm. _

_ "Crap," I muttered in agreement, and if I could see Ellie's face, she was probably shrugging. _

_ "_Sorry, you three,"_ she apologized, "_I must have spoken too soon."

_ "It's okay. We'll call you when we're at the Bridge." We hung up and then got off the tram at the Medical Deck. I had to agree with Timmy; I didn't want to be here, either, but it didn't seem like we had a choice, did we? _

_ "The Ishimura Medical Deck, Isaac," Nicole whispered to me, "These were my last hours. Frightened…cold…alone. Well, go on, Isaac. Don't be shy." _

_ "Timmy," I said, facing the teen before we moved on so that I could distract myself from my own mixed feelings, "You okay?" _

_ "I hate this deck," Timmy snarled. _

_ "I know," I said to him, "But we're only going to be in here for a short time. Just think of it as a quick detour." _

_ "What about you, Isaac? How are you feeling?" _

_ I sighed. "I don't know," I admitted, "Let's just see how quickly we can get through here." Reloading our weapons, we crept forward, noticing how the halls were filled with an eerie, blue light, and the blood on the floor and walls appeared green. _

_ "Sick," Alex whispered to herself. We crept along in silence, and once we opened the door up ahead, both Timmy and I recognized this area immediately. _

_ "Timmy," I gasped, "This is where we-" _

_ "Froze the Hunter," Timmy finished for me, "Phase Three. Yeah. I remember that." He then surprised me by what he said next. _

_ "Yeah, we froze your precious child!" he snapped, whirling around, "We avoided our fates. You were disappointed, weren't you? You were hoping we would ascend? Well, too fucking bad!" _

_ "Timmy?" Alex asked cautiously, and I was unsettled, too. He was starting to sound a lot like me. He suddenly exited through one of the doors until he was staring at the walls where capsules of frozen Necromorphs had once been situated. _

_ "I see your other plan failed, too!" he continued to shout to nobody in particular, "For a doctor, for a second scientist, you sure were a dumbass! Yeah, I'm calling you a dumbass, because you really thought your plan would work!" _

_ "Timmy!" I cried, but he continued to ramble. _

_ "Don't tell me the Hunter was my fault!" he roared, "I didn't kill him! I didn't kill him!" _

_ "TIMMY!" I cried again, running over to him and slapping him across the face again to snap him out of it. _

_ "Snap out of it!" I insisted, "Now it's my turn to repeatedly ask you if you're okay." _

_ Timmy removed his helmet to stare at me. "He's here, Isaac," he whispered to me, "I saw him." _

_ "Who?" I asked. _

_ "Him! You know…" He widened his eyes frantically, and I understood. _

_ "He's gone, Timmy," I assured him, "He's been dead for the last three years. He can't hurt you anymore." Timmy sighed and closed his eyes, and Alex remained in silence next to me. I hadn't seen Timmy get this upset since our first encounter with Mercer in the Chemistry Lab. _

_ "Y-you're right," he stammered as he shook a little bit, "He's dead. We killed him on the Crew Deck when he became a Necromorph. Let's just go. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary." _

_ "Anything we can do to help?" Alex asked gently as we continued on our way. _

_ "Not right now," Timmy retorted, "But thank you all the same." We continued through the hallways until we arrived at the Chemistry Lab again, where we had first encountered the Hunter. God, was it that long ago? _

_ As soon as we entered the lab, I suddenly saw a video pop up next to me on the static screens, and when I looked a little more closely, I saw it was Nicole. "_Isaac, it's me," _she began, and I realized what video this was, "_I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I wish I could just…talk to someone. It's all falling apart here. I can't believe what's happening! It's strange…such a little thing. In the end, it all comes down to this one…little thing. I didn't want it to end like this. I wanted to see you again, just once. I loved you. I've always loved you." _I looked away in that instant, as I knew what was going to happen next. _

_ "Nicole," I choked under my breath. Timmy and Alex moved closer to me as they both patted my shoulders. _

_ "It's okay, Isaac," Timmy said reassuringly, "We're here for you." Just as they were about to leave, I blurted out what was on my mind. _

_ "I convinced Nicole to accept the promotion on the _Ishimura_!" I confessed in a rapid voice. _

_ Both of them turned around as I removed my helmet for the time being. Timmy cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he asked in a dubious voice. _

_ "I convinced Nicole to join the _Ishimura's _crew," I repeated a little but more slowly so that they would catch it this time, "There. I said it." _

_ Timmy continued to stare at me, and the look on his face indicated that he was remembering something, and if I knew him as well as I thought I did, I could only guess which conversation he was remembering. "That's not what you told me the last time we were here, Isaac," he pointed out, "On the Crew Deck, in the Zero-G Basketball Court. You told me you and Nicole broke up because of the promotion due to the whole long-distance thing. You didn't mention anything about encouraging her!" _

_ "I know," I replied, "I lied to you about that. You see, she was unsure about whether or not she should take the promotion to Senior Medical Officer. She knew it was a big opportunity, but she wasn't sure about going to space for an extended period of time. I'm not completely sure, but I don't think she wanted to leave me back home alone, either, since that was when my career was starting to level off a little bit. I didn't want to feel like I was holding her back, so I managed to convince her to take the job. And she loved it! But then…well, you know the rest." _

_ At first, neither Timmy nor Alex said anything in response, but when Timmy finally responded, all he said was, "Why didn't you just tell me that when I asked you about it instead of making something up?" _

_ I sighed and glanced over at the screens where Nicole's final transmission had been. "I…I don't know," I replied, "I'm sorry I lied to you, but I had to." _

_ "No," Timmy said, shaking his head, "You don't lie about something like that. I know I wasn't honest with you about some things, but not about a situation like that. But what's done is done, I guess. Is there anything else we should know before we keep going?" _

_ "That's it," I assured him, "That was the only thing." _

_ "So that's what you meant by your comment back outside the Church," Alex realized, "When you dropped that cryptic comment about getting anyone else killed. Were you referring to Nicole?" _

_ Yes. Yes, I was, but I wouldn't let them know that. I was surprised Timmy hadn't blown up over this revelation, but I could tell he was also surprised. _

_ "I want you to listen to me, Isaac Clarke," he began, frowning as he stood in front of me, "You did not kill Nicole. You know it and I know it. What happened was not your fault in the slightest, so you should stop blaming yourself." But somehow, I would never believe that. I looked away from him and Alex and fixed my gaze back on the screen where I had seen Nicole's message playing. _

_ "That's why she's been showing up for you more, hasn't she?" Timmy realized, obviously thinking back to the discussion in the CEC Factory. I subtly nodded, and Timmy widened his eyes. _

_ "Isaac," he whispered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know." _

_ "Let's just keep going," I suggested, "Before more Necromorphs show up." I sighed to myself. At least that was off my chest, even though I still felt guilty for what had happened to Nicole. _

_ We continued through the bloody halls of the _Ishimura, _even passing through the Imaging Diagnostic room as I used Kinesis to drag a platform close to us. I remembered this platform had gone haywire the last time we were here, and even though it was now, there was something sparking down below. We just didn't know what it was. _

_ Once we were safely across the chasm and by the other familiar elevator that a Guardian had been blocking the last time, we found ourselves being ambushed yet again. "God, does it ever end?" Alex shouted over the din of our combined Pulse Rifles. _

_ "No," I replied back to her, "That's why this ship was overrun. Nobody knew how to kill the Necromorphs." _

_ "Except for you," Alex said matter-of-factly. _

_ "One of my colleagues, Zach Hammond, passed on that message to me, like I said at the beginning of all this." _

_ Once the swarm of Necromorphs had stopped attacking, all three of us took the elevator down to the lower level, where we were attacked by a few ferocious Leapers. "I hate these Necromorphs!" Timmy yelled as well, "Especially the Leapers!" _

_ "Look out!" Alex cried as one swiped at me, and I quickly used Stasis to take it down. Turning around, I used Kinesis to pull the battery out of the wall, which shut off the electricity in front of us. Once it was clear there was nothing else to do in here, we moved on. _

_ "You never found my body," Nicole whispered again, "Never said goodbye. Was I just stacked in the morgue with the others? Another random casualty? Or did they turn me into one of them? Wearing my bloodied face, stalking the hallways looking for more victims…" _

_ "We're almost to the end, you guys," I announced to Timmy and Alex, "The other tram station is just through that door." _

_ "Finally!" Alex piped up with relief, "We can get out of here now!" _

_ "Hopefully, we can reach the Bridge easily from that tram station," I replied as I stopped at the Store to stack up on supplies. Alex decided to buy some med packs as well just in case she got hurt again. _

_ "I'm going to need these to stay alive," she announced, "Right, Timmy?" _

_ No response, which was odd. "Timmy?" Alex repeated, turning around and gasping. _

_ "Isaac!" she said, tugging on my arm, "Timmy's gone!" _

_ "What?" I asked as I finished at the Store and turned around as well. Alex was right; Timmy wasn't standing there anymore. _

_ "But he was just with us," I reasoned, "Timmy! Timmy, come in! Where are you?" Still no response, except for a burst of static from his end. I knew he was surprised from before, but I didn't think it was enough to cause him to wander off like this. _

_ "Shit," Alex cursed under her breath, "Where could he have possibly gone?" _

_ But my gaze was drawn to the doors up ahead of us that led to the morgue. We heard the familiar sound of the doors closing, and I realized he must have slipped away and gone through there. _

_ "Shit!" I echoed, "We've got to find him! Now!" _

* * *

The hallways were quiet, which made me nervous. Blood ran down the walls, but there was still that same, eerie blue light from before. I wasn't even sure why I was going this way, but something was telling me to keep moving all the same. Why would Isaac care if I went exploring a little bit on my own? I could take care of myself, right? I still couldn't believe what he had told me before about Nicole. I was shocked that he lied about that!

These parts looked familiar to me, and I remembered where I was when I recognized the room we had avoided the Hunter in for a long time. I gasped to myself. That must have meant…no. No, no, NO! I was not about to end up where I thought I would end up. Granted, there were no Necromorphs here, but I was still scared as hell. How the hell had I ended up back here.

Passing through the large double doors up ahead, I wended my way through the small hallways until I stopped in front of a very familiar door. The sign on top made me gulp. "Challus Mercer's office," I mumbled to myself, "Shit." Shaking, I pressed the button right next to the door and watched as it slid open, and after looking around for a minute, I stepped inside and noticed that the office was even bloodier now than it had been the last time I was here. The severed body parts were still there as well, except that the smell was even more overpowering. Gagging a little bit, I held my hand up to my nose to suppress the odor. Out of nowhere, a voice suddenly made me freeze where I was.

"_Phase Two,_" it began, and I could have sworn I heard the smirk behind it, too, "_I knew you would return._"

Opening my eyes, I forced myself to face Dr. Mercer again, but no. He wasn't really there. Isaac said he was dead. So then why did he seem so alive to me? So real?

"You didn't know _shit,_" I hissed, flexing my fingers menacingly, "I just got sidetracked, that's all."

"_Did you_?" Mercer asked in that infuriating, know-it-all tone of voice, "_Are you sure about that?_"

"Stop it!" I snapped, "You're not even real, anyway! You're dead! You ascended on the Crew Deck and we killed you!"

"_So I did get to move on to the next life?_" Mercer asked in a relieved tone of voice, "_Go on. Tell me more. What was I like?_"

"You didn't last more than five minutes, I can tell you that," I replied with a smirk of my own, "You repeatedly tried to attack me and Isaac, but especially me. Then we cornered you into a wall and killed you. And let me tell you: it was pretty damn good watching you fall." I closed my eyes for a minute as that fight suddenly returned to me. At least Mercer was a Necromorph when I torched him with my flamethrower; I wasn't sure if I would have been able to carry out the deed if he had still been human.

"_And that's where you're wrong,_" Mercer piped up, causing me to clench my teeth together to keep from lashing out,_ "I'm not really gone, Timmy. I'll always be in your mind_." He was clearly trying to intimidate me, but I constantly reminded myself that I was a tough guy. I wouldn't let some lunatic rattle me anymore, especially a lunatic that wasn't even real.

"Timmy?" I asked, remembering the last time he had addressed me in his suicide video, "What happened to 'Phase Two' or 'Timothy'? Why did you use my nickname in that video?" At the same time, did I really want the answer?

"_There is so much you don't understand_," Mercer answered, "_That neither of you understood on the time._ _I've got to give it to you: you both were very misguided, but strong fighters nonetheless. Every obstacle I threw at you, you managed to get around it. You even managed to avoid your fates._"

"Maybe you should have rethought your beliefs on humans," I replied, "We proved you wrong and you know it. That's why you used the name I had used to introduce myself, didn't you? Was that a sign of respect?" No response, but I was sure that was it. He would never admit that, though.

"What do you want from me?" I asked instead, "Really, why do you have the sudden urge to follow me around even though you're _dead_? Do you have nothing better to do with your time than to make my life a living hell?"

"_I'm not finished with you, Phase Two," _Mercer growled, reverting to using my designated name in the lab, "_I never did get to see how your arm progressed. Even with the Necromorph tissue." _

"Well, _I'm _finished with _you_. It's funny; I had been wondering for a while why I was suddenly afraid of doctors. Oh, wait, I forgot: _you're _why." Damn. I had just remembered the doctor's appointment I had skipped at home because of thinking about the monster in front of me. Challus Mercer really had been a monster even more vicious than the Necromorphs themselves.

"_That's not fair,_" Mercer replied, "_I didn't do that to you. You let your own fear get in the way." _

"Fuck you," I cursed under my breath, even though I had to reluctantly admit that he had a point.

"_Now, your arm._"

I glared at him. "No," I said defiantly.

"_Your arm, Phase Two."_ He never raised his voice, but he was getting angrier every minute. Déjà vu, much?

"What do you want with my arm?" I demanded, clutching the part that was scarred.

"_Just let me see it._"

"Fine," I huffed, removing that part of my suit so that he could look at the scars.

"_I see the tissue has disappeared,_" Mercer noted, "_How did that happen? It was supposed to spread to the rest of your body._"

"Yeah, well, it didn't," I snapped, "Too bad for you, huh?"

Mercer raised one of his index fingers to his chin as he considered my statement. "_There may be a way to fix that," _he replied, "_Go into the lab. I'll meet you there."_ This seemed sketchy, but I figured I could use that time to escape and find my way back to the others. I ran quickly, passing by all the lab tables around me, but by the time I had arrived at the other doors leading into this place again, Mercer suddenly appeared in front of me again, causing me to stop. He chuckled a little bit, causing me to fume.

"_You can't fool me, Phase Two,_" he laughed, "_I know you. I've been watching you for a while now._"

"Okay, _now _you've gone from not just being an asshole, but a _creepy _asshole at that," I replied, "You were always a creep!"

"_And you were always my defiant test subject. But not anymore. You escaped once, but you won't escape again._"

"Oh yeah? Watch me." I turned to leave again, but I suddenly felt Mercer grab my injured arm, and I suddenly felt pain in my lower back as I collided with the door.

"_Shit,_" I hissed to myself as I rubbed my back to alleviate the throbbing I felt there. I knew that was going to bruise.

"Next time you try to kill me," I piped up, "Aim for outside the room."

"_I have a task for you,_" Mercer announced, "_It will involve reinserting that tissue into your arm._"

I scoffed. "What are you going to do?" I challenged, "Cut me open again?"

But Mercer was grinning knowingly as he reached for a scalpel and handed it to me. "_No, my friend,_" he answered, "_You're going to do it._"

"You've got to be shitting me!" I gasped, "No! I'm not doing that! Forget it!"

"_Fine. Then you will die as a lowly human. You'll have nobody, not even your two partners. They're going to ascend without you. I bet they're not even looking for you right now." _

I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute. I _had _been gone for a long time. Had Alex and Isaac even noticed?

"_The engineer doesn't trust you. And the girl is a Unitologist. So where does that place you, Timmy? Nowhere. Just cut your arm open again, and you'll be able to go on to the next life." _

I had to fight this. I wouldn't listen to anything this creep had to say. He was trying to break me, and I would make sure it didn't work. "No," I managed to hiss, and that was when it happened.

Moving forward, Mercer picked up the scalpel, held my scarred arm up to the light, and began to cut through the incisions while I screamed in pain at first. "Mother fucker!" I cursed, "Get off of me!" I struggled to get out of his grasp.

"_You have defied me for too long. Now it's time to play your part."_

"Fuck you!" I cursed again, clenching my teeth in pain again as I felt the scalpel reopen the incisions that had closed up a long time ago. I struggled even more now as I tried to give myself enough room to leap off the bench and make a run for it, but the pain was too much. I saw my own blood run down my arm, and I was horrified for a minute.

"STOP!" I shouted, "I'm not your lab rat anymore!"

"_I told you I would be back, but you didn't want to listen. This is the path you're supposed to take. Like I did._"

"No…it's…NOT!" I thundered, breaking free, only to feel him stab my arm with the scalpel similar to when I had stabbed him with one during my first escape attempt. Backing up for a minute, Mercer grabbed an even bigger knife than before, and as I ripped the scalpel out of my arm, I looked up as he attempted to use that to cut me open.

"Have I ever told you you're a little bit on the crazy side?" I asked as I avoided the blade.

"_More than once. But you are also suffering from the same dementia as the engineer." _

"Captain Obvious to the rescue," I snarled, which earned me another slice across the arm in one of the more painful scars. I gasped again at the sharp blade and tried to escape, but to no avail.

Well, I must have been screaming really loudly, because suddenly, the doors in the corner opened, and I heard some familiar voices. "TIMMY!" they cried.

"_Don't listen to them, Phase Two," _Mercer warned me while he continued to cut my arm open, "_They're not really here for you. They don't understand._"

"Fuck you!" I cursed again, struggling once more as the slicing was over and Mercer now tried to insert another tissue sample into my arm.

"Timmy!" a female voice cried, "Stop it!" I tried to stop, but Mercer wouldn't let me. I could see the tissue sample out of the corner of my eye now.

"TIMMY!" a male voice shouted this time. Both of them sounded familiar, which gave me the strength to fight back against Challus Mercer. So fight I did.

"_No!_" Mercer snapped.

"Fuck you, Mercer!" I cursed for a third time as I watched him back off after the struggle.

"_You think this is over?_" the crazed doctor asked, "_Do you think I'll just go away and leave you alone after this? I'll be back, Phase Two. And when I am, you won't be so lucky." _And with that, he was gone, leaving me to see that I had actually managed to reinsert the tissue into my arm. Blood ran down my forearm as I saw the knife in my hand, and I was horrified. I had lost it. I had truly and completely lost it!

"Timmy," the male voice whispered again, and when I glanced over, I saw Isaac and Alex standing there with thunderstruck expressions on their faces, watching as I clutched the large knife and glanced down at my bleeding arm. This was going to take a while to explain.


	12. Perilous Mines

Hey! I realized this is the longest I've gone without updating, so I apologize for that. School work got in the way, but I had some free time once my homework was done. With that in mind, here's the next chapter! Thanks again for the alerts, favorites, and reviews! I appreciate them a lot! I can't thank you guys enough! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy and Alex are mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions and Isaac's POV

**Bold- **Stross's POV

* * *

As I wrapped a bandage around my arm, I closed my eyes and cringed at the pain. Those scars had taken a long time to close back up, and I wondered how long it would take now. The tissue sample was still in there, but my mind was so numb at this point that I didn't care.

"Timmy?" Isaac asked quietly. I refused to look at him and Alex. Never in my life had I been so embarrassed. So…_ashamed._ I continued to doctor my arm silently, sighing as I thought about what had just happened.

"Timmy?" Alex also asked. I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it," I told them quietly, "Let's just get to the Bridge. I've held you both up already as it is." Leaping down from the lab table, I pushed past them, still not looking at either of them as we made our way to the tram station.

"But the tissue's still in your arm!" Alex gasped.

"I don't care," I replied in a low voice.

"Come on," she pleaded, "Just talk to us."

"Drop it, Alex!" I snapped. She sighed and fell silent.

"Just give him some time," I heard Isaac whisper to her, "He'll come around."

"How do you know?" she asked him.

"Because I experienced the same thing back in the Church. Remember?"

"Oh. Right." I tuned them out. In fact, I didn't want to pay attention to anything at that moment. I was still in shock. Was I just as insane as Challus Mercer had been? As Nolan Stross was now?

We silently headed back to the tram station, where we found that gravity had been turned off. We kicked up from the ground and flew through the empty tram station, Isaac leading the way as he killed some Necromorphs that were crawling on the walls next to us.

"You're not going to break me…" he muttered to himself as we continued to fly, and I sighed as I shook my head. I realized that maybe I should talk about what had happened. After all, Isaac knew exactly what it was like to experience something like that. Who better to talk to than the engineer?

Flying closer to him and out of Alex's reach, I positioned myself next to him as I whispered, "I understand how you felt back at the Church now."

"Jesus, Timmy," Isaac gasped, "You okay? I've already got the sickness. You don't need to develop it, too." I looked away as I refueled the flamethrower. Not even my favorite weapon could comfort me after the incident on the Medical Deck.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I sighed. "I don't know what to say," I replied, "He was there again, Isaac. He made me do it to myself. He was right in front of me as he cut my arm open again." I finally glanced up at the engineer.

"If I turn into one of them," I whispered, "I want you to kill me."

"Timmy, no," Isaac began, but I cut him off.

"I'm serious. I'm not going to hurt you or Alex in that state. I don't want to come back to life as a vicious Necromorph, which might happen if this tissue spreads again." I was aware of how serious my request was, but I would rather be dead than be a Necromorph, that was for sure.

"Don't think like that," Isaac ordered firmly as we finally arrived at the Bridge, "You're not going to die, and we're not going to allow you to die, either."

I laughed humorlessly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Isaac," I replied, "But just in case…"

"Timmy," Isaac said, "Look at me." I glanced at him.

"You're going to be fine. Everything will turn out for the best. We're going to destroy the Marker and end all this."

"I hope so." Glancing over to my right, I watched as Alex landed next to us, and I felt bad for snapping at her before. I just didn't really want to talk about Mercer at that moment.

"Are you still surprised with what I told you before?" Isaac asked.

Jesus. With all the drama that happened with me just now, I had almost forgotten about Isaac's confession. At least talking about that would take our minds off the Medical Deck…somewhat. "Why'd you lie?" I asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"What else was I supposed to say?"

"The truth, maybe? Instead of making something up?"

Isaac sighed. "I've been blaming myself for what happened to Nicole this whole time, and I was worried you would do the same," he explained, not looking at me as he said this.

I just widened my eyes again as my mouth dropped open in surprise. I didn't know what to say at first. He thought I would blame him for Nicole? Never!

"That's just it," I whispered, "I wouldn't have."

_Bam! _Jumping in the air a little bit, Isaac and I both whirled around to face Alex, who was holding her Pulse Rifle out in front of her.

"Why do I feel like you two are leaving me out of the loop?" she asked, "Will somebody _please _tell me what's going on?"

Isaac glanced at me and cleared his throat. "I don't know about Timmy," he started, "But I still don't trust you. Why are you so willing to help us all of a sudden?"

Alex huffed and placed a hand on her hip. "Do you really think all of us '_Marker Heads_' are evil and conniving?" she asked.

"Well, most of the ones we've met have turned out as such," Isaac answered, "How do we know you're not going to betray us again?"

Shaking her head, Alex moved on through the Bridge. "No faith at all…" she mumbled to herself, and after a while, we finally made it to the main Atrium, where some more crates greeted us. That could only mean one thing…

"Stalkers!" I shouted as one barreled towards us rapidly. Isaac quickly used Stasis to take care of this Necromorph as more appeared from behind the crates. _Man, _I hated these monsters!

"Shit!" Alex cursed from next to me as one swiped at her leg, cutting her through her Security Suit. After stumbling back for a minute, she used her Pulse Rifle to take care of the offending Necromorph.

The three of us tiptoed through the crates, taking out more of the Stalkers before finally arriving at a Save Station, where we rested and reloaded our weapons. "Never a dull moment with either of you," Alex commented, "That's for sure."

"It's about to get better," Isaac said, and I was sure he was smirking, "Come on!" We raced down the small ramp and onto the Cargo Elevator leading to the Captain's Nest.

"Ellie?" Isaac began, activating a video log, "We're almost to the Captain's Nest to activate the tethers."

"_All right,_" Ellie replied, glancing through a window, "_The centrifuge looks spooled to full power from here._"

"Great! Let's hope this works. It'll be tight. You ready?"

"_All set. I'll wait for your signal._" She hung up.

"This is it, guys," I whispered as we entered the Captain's Nest, "We're almost there."

Alex and I waited by the exit while Isaac activated the tethers, and as soon as he did, we felt a lurch just as the room began to rock back and forth. Alarms rang as numbers counted down on the large screen in front of us.

"_Gravity tethers engaged,_" a voice announced once the countdown finally reached zero.

"We did it!" I cried, pumping my fist into the air.

"_You did it!_" Ellie also cried in joy as she appeared once again, "_Get back here! The tracks are moving!_"

Isaac thought about it for a second and shook his head. "No, just go!" he shouted to her, "We'll use one of the escape pods and meet you there! Now go!" Ellie nodded and disappeared.

"Are we all going to fit?" I asked as we began heading towards the exit.

"We should," Isaac replied, and in that moment, we all heard our communicators go off as a new voice greeted us.

"_Clarke, you idiot!_" Tiedemann snapped, "_Those gravity tethers will tear the whole moon apart! Cl-_"

"Time to go!" Isaac interrupted him, hanging up on him in mid-sentence, and Alex and I laughed as we high-fived each other. Tiedemann had it coming.

"He's such a bastard," I commented as we moved towards one of the escape pods. Just as we were about to climb in, however, Isaac stopped and just stared at nothing.

"I don't know!" he snapped, "I don't know what you are, okay?"

Alex opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly stopped her. "Trust me," I whispered out of the engineer's earshot, "You don't want to go there." She nodded in understanding, but I could tell she was confused. At least she hadn't been there for our fight earlier.

"What are you two waiting for?" Isaac shouted, "Get in the pod!" Without wasting another minute, the two of us climbed in and took our seats next to Isaac.

"_Ejection sequence initiated. Launch in 3…2…1…Launch!_"

_Whoosh! _With another lurch and a bang, we dropped out from the _Ishimura _and began speeding towards our destination. "Thank God we're out of there," I sighed, turning around to stare at the large planet-cracker.

Isaac nodded and tapped into his RIG. "We're away!" he reported, "Ellie? Did you make it?"

"_You guys!_" Ellie shouted, "_We crossed the track, but we're coming in hot!_"

"Just hold on to something, Ellie!" I replied encouragingly, "You'll make it!"

But what we heard next surprised us. "_I just need you to see what I see, Ellie!_" Nolan hissed, putting a nasty emphasis on Ellie's name, "_I promise it won't hurt!_"

"_Stross! Put down the screwdriver!_" Our euphoric state instantly disappeared at the sound of Ellie screaming.

"Stross, no!" Isaac yelled, but the two of them were gone.

"Shit," Alex cursed to herself, "Just hang in there, Ellie. We're almost there."

"What else could go wrong?" I asked, but I must have spoken too soon, for we suddenly felt another jerk, and we nearly fell all over ourselves.

"_Proximity warning. Impact detected. Guidance system malfunction._"

"Fuck," Isaac snapped, "_That._"

I shrugged.

"_All guidance systems offline._"

"Oh, shit!"

"_Brace for impact._"

"All right, shut up, lady!" I snapped at the announcements, "Stop pointing out the obvious!"

"Holy crap!" Alex screamed.

"Hold on tight!" Isaac ordered as the next thing we saw was white light, followed by a loud explosion as everything went dark around us.

* * *

_"Isaac? Isaac, are you there?" _

_ That voice. It sounded familiar. All I could see in front of me was her silhouette, but I recognized who it was all the same. _

_ "You were right, Isaac!" Nicole exclaimed, "The Ishimura is a great ship! I'm so lucky to be serving aboard her! You made me stick with it." _

_ Now that sounded like the Nicole I remembered, not that other hallucination that was a product of the Marker. I wanted to hold on to her for just a little bit longer from where I was now, but as soon as she raised her head, I knew something was wrong. That other shadow of her was back. _

_ "YOU MADE ME DIE!" _

* * *

Shifting in my sleep a little bit, I opened my eyes as I took in the burning wreckage in front of us. Next to me, Alex and Isaac were slowly coming around, with Isaac gasping and sitting up where he was.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked, glancing over at the two of us.

"Damn," Alex muttered to herself as we picked ourselves up after the impact from the escape pod.

"At least we didn't have to go by ourselves this time," I pointed out as Isaac brushed himself off as well.

At that moment, we received an urgent transmission from Ellie. "_Isaac!_" she cried frantically, and we noticed in horror that she was pinned down to the ground, and Nolan was climbing on top of her with the screwdriver in his hand.

"Aw, shit!" I cursed.

"_Shh,_" Nolan whispered to her, "_It's gonna be okay, I promise. This won't hurt a bit._"

"Nolan!" I shouted, "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Leave her alone!" Alex added.

"_Cross my heart and hope to die…_" Nolan sang.

"Stross!" Isaac yelled.

"_Stick a needle in your eye…_"

"_Stross, God damn it!_" Isaac roared as Ellie screamed.

"Stop it, Nolan!" I shouted as well, but then the transmission ended.

"Shit, shit, shit," Isaac mumbled, "We've got to help her!"

"Well, let's not keep standing here!" Alex responded, "Come on!" And with that, we began to run, taking out all Necromorphs in our path.

"Daina was right!" I gasped, "He's a fucking psycho!"

"Do you still think he isn't capable of murder?" Alex asked me as we continued through this unfamiliar area. Stalkers and Crawlers were all over the place, so it took a while to get through them, but somehow, we managed. Perhaps it was because we had to help Ellie. God, I hoped she was okay. _Damn you, Nolan, _I thought to myself.

"I…I don't know," I sighed, "I just can't believe this."

"I wish I hadn't insisted on leaving Stross with Ellie," Isaac groaned once all the Necromorphs in the area were gone.

"It's okay, Isaac," I assured him, "You didn't know he would snap to this extent."

"No, but I still feel bad."

"Don't worry," Alex piped up next, "We'll help Ellie."

And with that, we continued forward cautiously until we arrived in an underground facility. After the loud noises from our weapons during the siege just now, the silence was unnerving.

"I seeeee you!" Nolan suddenly whispered in a creepy voice. I shuddered and felt my heart rate pick up. If he had already attacked Ellie, what would he try to do to the rest of us?

"Oh, shit," I hissed as Alex gulped and looked around cautiously, raising her Pulse Rifle in front of her.

"Why did you do it, Stross?" Isaac demanded.

"I can't face it!" Nolan replied, "I thought Ellie could! I had to make her see. Step Three!"

"You've lost your marbles this time, Stross!" Alex shouted back just as Isaac spoke up again.

"What can't you face?" he asked, "What's the last step?"

"Her! It's what they're afraid of, that I'd face her! Destroy the Marker! But it's too much. You have to help! You need to see. Step 3!"

"Stross!" No response.

"Damn it," Isaac swore as he began hacking through the main frame in front of us to get access to the next area, "You two, don't let your guard down for a minute."

"No, sir," Alex replied, shaking her head. Alex and I slipped our helmets off for a while as we continued through the mines.

As we descended even further into the mines and dismembered more Necromorphs, I continued to think about what the last step might have been. _Nolan can't face her, _I thought to myself, _She must be his wife that he murdered. _It wasn't enough, but it was a start.

_Isaac feels guilty for convincing Nicole to serve aboard the Ishimura, _I continued to think, _And he keeps trying to push her out of his mind. And when I tried to help, he snapped at me and claimed I couldn't help him with this. Maybe he's right. Maybe I can't help him. If this is the case, and assuming Nolan feels guilty for murdering his wife, then Step Four must be…no. It couldn't be. That's too easy! _I had to admit I'd been thinking about this ever since Isaac and I's fight in the CEC factory. Oh, well. I was probably wrong, anyway.

* * *

_**A while later…**_

"_Attention, shift workers,_" a male voice began, "_Be mindful of the nearest survival chamber. These are your only hope of survival should a cave-in occur._"

"Well, gee, are they trying to tell us something here?" I asked the others lightheartedly in an attempt to lighten the mood a little bit.

"Perhaps," Alex replied, grinning, "I doubt these walls will just cave in on us that quickly." She patted one of the walls for emphasis.

"How are you feeling, by the way?" she asked me, "Are you feeling better?"

Surprisingly, I was. I wasn't sure how much time had gone by, but I was slowly returning to my normal self. Granted, I was still shaken up over what had happened in the lab, but if Isaac could overcome his breakdown, then so could I. Slowly.

"Yeah, I am," I said to her and Isaac as I refueled my flamethrower.

"That's good," Alex replied. She then sighed.

"Timmy, Isaac," she continued, "I'm really sorry about what happened at the Church. I shouldn't have said what I said and I wish I could take it back now. Forgive me?"

I glanced over at Alex, who was smiling at me sadly. I wasn't sure whether or not to trust her again. Isaac clearly didn't, but she did seem genuinely sorry. She was back here, after all, to help us. Wasn't she?

"Alex?" I asked softly, taking her hand into mine.

"Yeah, Timmy?" she whispered.

But before I could say what was on my mind, a voice suddenly interrupted us.

"There you are!" the voice cried, and we all gasped and jumped back as Nolan rushed forward, rattling the cage separating us. The expression on his face was startling; he looked frazzled and a little bit psychotic, not unlike Terrence Kyne had at some points.

"Nolan," I began, trying to quell my nerves, "Just calm down. We need you to stay calm."

"We've been waiting for you," Nolan said in a low voice, whipping out a screwdriver with an eyeball on it and pointing it at us, "Now, it's your turns!" I felt my face turn green and I had to keep from throwing up. He had done it. He had actually gouged Ellie's eye out! Was he insane?

"Shit!" Alex gasped, "You're out of your fucking mind!"

"Oh, God!" Isaac gasped, "Ellie!"

"I'll start with you!" Nolan decided, pointing at Alex, "Step Three! Then you all-"

"YAAHHHH!" a voice screeched from behind him, and Ellie suddenly came into view, knocking Nolan over the head with a beam. Once he was down, she took a deep breath and faced us.

"Ellie…" Isaac whispered.

"You two owe me an eye, you bastards!" she snapped, pointing at me and Isaac. In front of us, Nolan growled as he leaped up from the ground and went after Ellie again, and using her beam, she knocked him into the wall as the gate closed in front of us. For the next minute, we couldn't think of anything to say as we heard words of hate being exchanged from both ends. Mouths dropped open in horror, we all glanced at each other silently, not knowing what to say to all this.

"The patient is not cooperating!" Nolan shouted.

"Fuck you!"

"She needs another session! Yes!"

"Don't even try it!"

"It's mine!"

"Jesus, Stross," Isaac hissed to himself, "Why?"

Alex sighed to try and calm herself down, for she had started shaking when Nolan pointed the screwdriver at her. "You okay?" I asked her.

"No," she replied, "He's gone off the deep end this time! He's going to try and gouge our eyes out, too. Starting with me! He's taking this grudge too far now."

Before we could contemplate the situation further, a tentacle suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Isaac by the arm. Out of instinct, he grabbed onto me while I snatched Alex by the arm too. Screaming, we slid through this unfamiliar path, slipping our helmets on quickly, before being tossed out into the vacuum of space. Shaking our heads, we began to make our way through this next part, killing the Necromorphs in the area before continuing.

"_Ellie lied!_" Nolan hissed through our RIGs, "_She won't help! But all of you will. Isaac, you'll see her after Step 3!_"

"For your sake and ours," I began, "Don't do anything else stupid!"

"_Isaac, Timmy, Alex!_" Ellie cried, "_He's run off deeper into the mines!_"

"We've got problems on this end, too!" Isaac replied, "Get somewhere safe!"

"_I'll try._" But she sounded much weaker than she had before, and I began to worry that she wouldn't make it. But then I reminded myself: Ellie was one of the strongest women I had met in this universe so far. She probably still had a fighting chance.

For the next several minutes, we flew through this vacuum as we found a way to get back inside. Once we were back inside, we took a deep breath to calm ourselves down.

"Ellie, we're back inside," Isaac reported, "Where are you? Where's Stross?"

Ellie sighed on her end. "_I'm safe for now, but he's lost it. I think he's coming for all of you. I've found something you're going to want to see. Here's my location. Hurry and get here. I'm not in any shape to be fighting." _

"We'll get there as soon as we can. Stay safe."

"Feel better, Ellie!" I cried to her just before we hung up.

Just as Alex and I were getting ready to get on the elevator next to us, Isaac cleared his throat. "All right, listen up, you two," he ordered, "Stross could be anywhere around here, so we're going to have to be extra careful, okay? Don't let your guards down! Stay sharp!"

"Just let him try and take my eye," Alex growled, reloading her Pulse Rifle a little bit more aggressively than usual.

"He's not going to take your eye," Isaac assured her, "He's not going to get any of us."

* * *

**Oh, God. Oh, God, oh, God, oh **_**God**_**! **

** What was happening? Why was everything clouding my mind again as I ran through the mines? In one hand was the screwdriver with Ellie's eyeball on it, and my other hand was clenched into a tight fist. Why didn't anybody want to help? Why couldn't they just see what I saw? **

** Isaac. He had to be around here somewhere. Holding the screwdriver in my hand, I continued to creep forward as I looked for him, Timmy, and Alex. I would **_**make **_**them see. I would **_**make **_**them understand! Alex would be first because of her involvement with those awful sessions. Timmy would be next; he was bad news from the start, and his habit of staring at me and downplaying my advice didn't help him at all. And Isaac…oh God, Isaac. I guessed I was saving the best for last, huh? I wanted him to see her. After this, he would. They all would. **

** Nobody had tried to contact me after I ran away from Ellie, and I preferred it that way. I didn't want to speak to Ellie, especially since she refused to help me, and I sure as hell couldn't face **_**her **_**on my own. No, no, no. I couldn't! **

** "**_**Daddy!**_**" **

** Oh, no. The voices were back. My head started to hurt again, so I stopped outside the locked door in front of me. **

** "**_**Daddy? Why did you hurt me and Mommy?**_**" **

** "No, no, NO!" I shouted, "I didn't mean it, son!" I pounded the wall next to me in frustration. **

** "**_**Time for another session, Stross,**_**" another voice announced, and when I opened my eyes again, all I could see in front of me was the doctor-Foster something or another- and Alex as they began the session. **

** "NO!" I yelled again, "I'm not ready for another session!" **

_**Slap! **_**I suddenly felt a stinging sensation across my cheek, and when I looked up, I noticed Alex's palm was turning red. **

** "**_**Miss Adams**_**!" Foster snapped. **

** "**_**Sorry, sir**_**," she croaked, "**_**I had to get him to calm down.**_**" **

** "**_**Let's just start the session.**_**" And in my mind, I watched the darkness engulf me, and a flicker of regret flashed across Alex's face just before the session began. **

** "Shit," I thought as I closed my eyes and snapped them open again, only to see nothing. My hands started to shake now as I clutched the screwdriver, and I turned my attention back to the door, where I thought I heard some distant voices. Holding the screwdriver out in front of me, I narrowed my eyes at the door. I would be ready for whatever was on the other side. I only hoped they would be ready for me, too. **

* * *

Silence. Nothing but silence greeted our ears once again after we finished killing all the Necromorphs in the area. I could only hear our beating hearts as we kept an eye out for Nolan. "Christ," I gasped, "He's _worse _than Dr. Kyne."

"At least Kyne didn't try and gouge our eyes out," Isaac replied, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"You better be right on this one, Isaac," Alex said with a slight tremor in her voice.

"Isaac's a genius," I said to her, "He knows what he's talking about."

Up ahead, Isaac ripped off the metal frame leading to this next control panel, and he began hacking into it to try and open the door. Luckily, he was successful for the most part.

"There you are!" a voice shrieked, and to our horror, Nolan was standing on the other side and staring at us as he clutched the screwdriver in his hand. With the same psychotic expression on his face, he stomped towards us and grabbed Isaac by the neck.

"W-whoa, Stross!" Isaac gasped, "What are you doing?"

"You have to face her for me!" Nolan yelled, hitting Isaac over the head with the screwdriver while Alex and I watched in mute horror.

"Stross!" all three of us shouted as we took off our helmets.

"Tell her I didn't mean to do it!" Nolan thundered.

_Oh, God, _I thought, closing my eyes for a minute, _This is going to be a stupid idea, but here goes nothing._

"YAHHHHH!" I cried, throwing myself towards Nolan and tackling him to the ground similar to when I had fought with Necromorph Mercer back on the _Ishimura._ Next to me, Alex sprinted towards us as well as she attempted to hold him down to restrain him, and Isaac knelt down next to me as well.

"Hold him down!" she shouted to us, "That's it! You've got him!"

"Let me go!" Nolan snapped, "You have to see!" Alex continued to hold him down, but he proved to be strong. With a lot of effort, he managed to break free from us, knocking Alex to the ground and causing her to tumble backwards a little bit. As she righted herself, Nolan turned his attention to her, and grabbing the screwdriver again, he marched towards her, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her up from the ground as she yelped in surprise.

"Stross!" Isaac and I both screamed, racing forward to try and pacify him again. It was three vs. one; why was it proving to be so difficult?

As I tried to free Alex from Nolan's surprisingly strong grip, Isaac began fighting with him to wrestle the screwdriver out of his hand, and beneath me, Alex suddenly narrowed her eyes, kneed Nolan in the most painful place possible, and leaped up to avoid the screwdriver, and in the middle of the fray, I watched as Alex tried to dodge the weapon, only to yelp in pain again as the screwdriver left a gash right underneath her eye. In that moment, her expression changed until she became angry.

"If you make me go blind," she growled, "I'll fucking kill you."

"Look out!" I heard Isaac shout, but before I could react, I suddenly felt a searing pain close to my injured arm, and when I saw some blood run down my arm and close to my wrist, I realized that Nolan got me with the screwdriver, too.

"You have to see!" he repeated, going after me this time, and as I backed up next to Alex (who was still nursing underneath her eye), Isaac moved forward next, and Nolan tried to attack him as well.

"Stross, it's me!" Isaac shouted, but Nolan was so far gone at this point.

"See her!" he roared as he tried to stab Isaac with the screwdriver.

"It's Isaac!"

"_Tell her!_"

"Stross!" we all yelled.

"Step 3! Step 3!"

Just when it looked like things were going bad for Isaac, the tables turned, and Isaac suddenly gained the upper hand. Wrestling the screwdriver away from Nolan, Isaac used it to stab him in the temple, and Alex gasped audibly next to me. We were all in shock as we realized Nolan Stross was the first human Isaac had ever killed.

"Oh, God," Nolan whispered as he staggered to the ground.

"Why did you do it, Stross?" Isaac asked.

"H-here," Nolan croaked, handing over an audio log before he collapsed to the ground for good.

"Oh, my God," I petitioned under my breath as Alex and I slowly made our way over to Isaac.

"Jesus," the engineer whispered, "I can't believe I just did that."

"You had to," I assured him, "He was about to kill all of us. It was for the best." Alex sighed and closed her eyes for a minute, wincing in pain at the gash underneath her left eye.

"What does that audio log say?" she asked quietly, and Isaac picked it up and began to play it.

"_Alexis,_" Nolan's voice crooned through the speaker, "_If you get this, I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you or our son. After the sessions, I keep seeing you, but…you're so mad. So…angry. You're scaring me. I want you to stop. What's happening to me? Please come get me…_" He trailed off from there, and we all bowed our heads for a minute.

"I never thought I would say this," Alex said, breaking the silence, "But I feel a little bit sorry for Stross."

"Yeah," I agreed in a quiet voice, "Me too."

"The Marker," Isaac piped up, "The Marker caused this to happen to him. We have to put an end to this once and for all." It was clear that he didn't want to be here any longer, and I couldn't blame him. He had just killed another human. That would take a while to sink in.

"Let's go," he whispered, and after dressing our injuries from Nolan's attacks, we continued on our way, but not before turning around to stare at Nolan Stross's body. A sinking feeling entered my stomach. Isaac had said he was necessary to destroy the Marker, and now, he was dead. How were we supposed to carry on with our plans without him?


	13. Escape from Impending Danger

Thanks again for all the support, guys! :) It's kind of hard to believe, but this story is almost finished. Just a few more chapters to go! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy and Alex are mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from audio/video transmissions, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. All other plot points and minor alterations to certain gameplay elements are mine.

_Italics- _Audio/Video Transmissions and Isaac's POV

* * *

_Whipping out a handkerchief from my pocket, I sighed as I wiped Stross's blood off my hands. I wasn't going to lie: I was in shock over what I had done. I had just killed him! I had never killed a human before, and I wasn't looking to do it again. I could tell this was going to haunt me for a long time after this. _

_ "Hey," Timmy and Alex said gently, moving to stand next to me. _

_ "You did the right thing, Isaac," Timmy assured me again, "You freed Stross from his pain and you stopped him from killing us. We'd all be dead right now if it wasn't for you." _

_ As much as I appreciated him trying to make me feel better about killing Stross, I still didn't feel good about it. "Ellie…" I whispered wistfully. _

_ "She's tough," Alex mused as she raised her hand up to right underneath her left eye, where a band aid was now placed over the deep gash Stross had left, "She'll be okay." Timmy nodded in agreement. _

_ "Are you two okay?" I asked them as we continued to move on through the mines. _

_ Timmy glanced down at the slash mark on his already injured arm. "I'm okay," he replied, "I've sustained far worse injuries than from a screwdriver." I nodded and ushered them onwards, and as we ran through the mines, Nicole suddenly spoke to me again. _

_ "It's a shame what happened to Stross," she said in a mock sympathetic voice, "This is what happens when you fight it." _

_ "Shut up!" I snapped, causing Timmy and Alex to flinch for a second, but only for a second as they were so used to my seemingly random outbursts by now, "Just shut up! The Marker…It was you! You made him do it! You made me kill him! DIDN'T YOU?" _

_ "How is it that you still haven't come to terms with who I am? Who am I, Isaac? I will only ask you one more time before the end. Be ready." _

_ "For fuck's sake," I hissed to the others, "What is she talking about?" _

_ Timmy and Alex shrugged. "Never mind," I grumbled, "Let's just keep going." _

* * *

_**A little while later…**_

_"You've been awfully quiet," I said to Timmy once we were finished resting outside the large double door up ahead, "What are you thinking about?" _

_ "Nothing," Timmy quipped in response, "Just the last step, that's all. Stross never told us what exactly it was." _

_ "Stross," I echoed, shaking my head, "He should have said something." _

_ But Timmy surprised me next with what he said. "I've been thinking about it for a while," he explained, "And I think I know what it might be, though I'm not completely sure." _

_ "What is it?" I asked, but before Timmy could continue, I opened the double doors…only to find Nicole once again. Before I could react, she grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. _

_ "Moment of truth, Isaac!" she snapped, "Who am I? Am I your friend? Your lover? The one shred, one light, one bright, shining star you clung to in this universe? Or am I your guilt? Crushing the life out of you because you can't get over the fact that I'm dead? That you feel responsible? Who…am…I? Why do you keep fighting me? Why can't you let go?" _

_ "Isaac!" Alex shouted from next to me as she rushed forward to help, but surprisingly, Timmy calmly stretched his arm out to hold her back. _

_ "Don't," he said to her. _

_ "Timmy, he's suffocating himself!" Alex gasped. _

_ "Just wait a minute!" Timmy cried in an exasperated tone of voice. _

_ As Nicole continued to choke me, I continued to think about what she was saying, and in that moment, I realized something. I realized what the answer to her question was. _

_ "Because you were my everything," I answered, "And if I let you go…I've got nothing left." _

_ For a second, Nicole continued to choke me, but then, I felt her lower me to the ground as the ghostly hallucination disappeared and changed back into the Nicole Brennan I had known when she was alive. Smiling at me, she reached out and cupped my chin into her hand. _

_ "Step four," she announced, "Acceptance." _

_ Acceptance? That was what the last step was? I couldn't believe it! Feeling relieved, as well as tears prick my eyes, I collapsed to the ground and began to sob a little bit. _

_ "Now, you're ready to finish this," Nicole assured me, and I watched as she walked away and disappeared into thin air. I remained where I was, and Timmy and Alex slowly approached me. _

_ "Isaac?" Timmy asked quietly as the two of them knelt down next to me. _

_ "Step four," I repeated to them, "Acceptance." _

_ Timmy and Alex widened their eyes in surprise as they glanced at each other. Then, they nodded and moved forward to hug me. _

_ "That's what I thought," Timmy muttered, and I pulled away in surprise. _

_ "Wait, you knew that was the last step?" I asked him, "Why didn't you say something?" _

_ "I didn't know for sure," Timmy explained, "It was only a guess, but I thought I was wrong. Besides, you told me a while ago that I couldn't help you with this. You were right. I couldn't. That's how the game works." _

_ "Game?" I echoed in disbelief, "What game?" _

_ "You know," Timmy responded, "The game of destroying the Marker!" _

_ "I suppose," I said, "Let's go find Ellie." _

* * *

Acceptance. _Acceptance. _I _knew _that had to be the last step. Maybe the game was trying to tell me that all along. Damn.

I had almost let slip that this was all a videogame, too, but luckily, I caught myself just in time. Now that Isaac had learned to accept his guilt, what did that mean for the rest of us?

In that moment, Alex and I watched as Isaac emerged in the Advanced RIG. "Damn," Alex gasped to herself, "Nice suit, Isaac."

"Thanks," Isaac replied as he glanced down at himself before slipping his helmet on. He then held up the Schematic for the other suit we had found: the Riot Security Suit.

"Timmy," he said, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice, "I think it's time for you to upgrade your suit. You've been wearing the Engineering Suit for too long now, and you're going to need something stronger."

"You haven't bothered to upgrade?" Alex asked as I glanced down at my suit. I realized that even Alex had managed to change into a slightly more powerful suit during her time with EarthGov. Maybe they were right. Maybe I was long due for an upgrade.

"I was with Isaac," I explained, "I didn't think I needed to. But I guess I will now."

"Take the Riot Security Suit," Isaac ordered, handing me the Schematic.

"Thanks, Isaac," I thanked him as I climbed into the Store and selected the Riot Security Suit, and after a minute or two, I had gone from wearing the Engineering Suit to sporting this outfit, and I had to admit it was good to upgrade.

"Now that that's taken care of," I sighed, "Let's go find Ellie."

A little while later, after trekking through the mines a little bit more, we found Ellie hovering by a large drill. Her RIG was flashing red after Nolan's attacks. Not a good sign.

"You three!" she cried, waving us over, "Over here!" We quickly sprinted over to her, and when she faced us, I noticed she had a patch over her right eye.

"It looks like the mechanic was dragged away before he could finish fixing this," Ellie explained. She winced for a minute, but she seemed like she was regaining herself slowly.

"Stross is dead, Ellie," Isaac announced to her, and upon receiving this news, she turned and faced us again.

"Well," she said, "I'm not sorry about that."

"You don't have to be," Alex quipped, nodding at her.

"Thank God he didn't get the rest of you," Ellie sighed, "So what happens now? I thought you needed Stross to destroy the Marker."

"Stross couldn't destroy the Marker," Isaac explained, "He was running away from his guilt."

Ellie tilted her head to the side. "What about you?" she asked.

"I'm not running anymore. I know what I have to do." He glanced over at the drill in front of us.

"Well, this drill is a stroke of good luck, finally. Why don't you get up to the cab and try to get it started? We'll look for the other power cell."

"All right. I'll see what I can do from up here." And with that, she turned around and climbed up to the cab.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked her.

With a fierce determination, Ellie turned around to face me. "I'm not going to let having only one eye stop me from getting us to the Government Sector," she declared, disappearing into the cab once more.

"Enough said," I mumbled, even though I knew Ellie was right. She was tough, just like Alex said.

We continued to run around as we found the other power cell, and once that was taken care of, we crossed over a moving gondola in order to find a working junction. Of course, Necromorphs had gotten in the way, but that didn't stop us from doing what we had to do.

"Found it," Isaac announced to Ellie as soon as we had recovered all the necessary parts.

"_Great! I think I've hotwired the system to bypass the Nav Cards. Thank God._"

"Yeah. Come on, you two!" Reloading our weapons, Alex and I followed the engineer back the way we came until we returned to the drill. Isaac quickly removed the broken junction and inserted the new one.

"It doesn't recognize the new junction," Isaac announced.

"_I think I've got it from up here,_" Ellie replied as Alex began climbing up onto the drill.

"Or maybe just rewire it from down here…" Isaac mumbled.

"_What? Didn't hear you._"

"Nothing!" Isaac insisted, "Nothing."

"What are you doing, Alex?" I asked Alex as she climbed up to where Ellie was.

"I'm going to see if she wants help with anything," Alex explained, "All for a better cause, right?"

"I guess so," Isaac replied as he continued to rewire the drill, "Just be careful, okay?" Alex saluted him and scampered away.

Once Isaac was finished hacking, the drill's motor came to life, and Ellie seemed pleased with herself. "_I did it!_" she exclaimed, "_I got it started!_" That was when I decided: she was one of my favorite people here. Even with one eye and very low health, she was still full of spunk. She was just as badass as Isaac.

"Uh…" Isaac started, but Ellie continued speaking.

"_There's a lift on the other side. I'll turn around and you two can get on._"

"Sounds like a plan," I retorted, "Did Alex get up there safely?"

"_Yeah, she's here. We're turning around now._"

As they began to turn around, we suddenly heard a screeching noise, and more of the Pack sprinted towards us as we ran and shot, picking up the items they dropped. Once it seemed like they were backing off for good, Isaac and I made our way onto the drill.

"Okay, we're on!" Isaac cried.

"_All righty! Let's see what this beast can do!_"

"_Good luck, you two!_" Alex also said encouragingly, and we began to move forward. Everything was quiet at first until a swarm of Necromorphs appeared.

"_These bastards are everywhere!_" Ellie snarled as all different kinds of Necromorphs climbed onto the drill where we were, "_Alex, help me plow through all of the ones in front of us!_"

"_Right away!_" The two women disappeared, and as Isaac and I killed all the Necromorphs that climbed up to our level, I continued to think about Alex's sudden return. Secretly, I was glad she was back and fighting _with _us instead of _against _us. Even when she had gone missing, I hadn't given up on her. Somehow, I had a feeling she was alive this whole time.

However, she still seemed to be semi-holding on to her beliefs, no matter what she said. I hoped we could continue to change that over time.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop!" Isaac suddenly cried, holding a hand up, "STOP!"

With a jolt, the drill suddenly stopped. "Are you two okay?" Alex asked from inside the cab.

"Never better," I sighed.

"Looks like we've reached the foundation pylons of the Government Sector," Ellie announced, pointing up ahead.

"So how do we get in there?" Isaac asked.

"Straight ahead. We do have a drill." With a loud roar, the motor started up again and we continued through the vast caves.

Isaac sputtered in indignation. "You know we're riding on top of this thing, right?" he asked, but the two women seemed to ignore us, instead giving the drill all the power they could.

"Ellie?" Isaac asked cautiously, "Ellie? Ellie! Alex!"

"Shit," I cursed to myself, "They can't hear us!"

But then Alex poked her head out the window as she removed her helmet. "Brace yourselves!" she warned as she slipped back inside again.

"Timmy!" Isaac shouted over the noise, "Grab on to the railing!" I obliged, holding on next to him as we plowed through the wall, flying in the air for a second before landing on the ground in an unfamiliar setting.

As soon as I opened my eyes after the impact was over and the drill was totaled, I looked around at the strange, gray and white hallways that had an important feeling to them. _I bet this is the Government Sector finally, _I thought to myself, _Now, where's the Marker? _

"Holy crap," Isaac grumbled, "That hurt." Although I agreed that that _was _pretty painful, I didn't think it compared to our high-flying adventure outside the Church earlier.

"You okay?" I asked, helping him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the engineer assured me, "But where are Ellie and Alex?"

"Down here!" Alex shouted, and when we rushed over to the edge, we spotted Ellie and Alex standing next to each other and gazing up at us.

"Well, we can compare bruises later," Ellie said to us, "But at least we made it, right?"

"Finally!" I cried in relief, "I never thought we'd get here!"

"This is most definitely the Government Sector, and I'm guessing that Marker of yours is behind that huge door over there." She pointed to said door as she spoke.

"Well, we better move fast," Isaac decided, "Those things are going to find a way up the hole we drilled. There's got to be an elevator or something connecting these floors. We're going to try and make our way to you two."

"All right. We'll meet you halfway."

"Sounds like a plan," I piped up, "And Alex!"

Alex turned around. "Yeah, Timmy?" she asked.

I sighed. "Take care of yourself, okay?" I said to her, "And stick with Ellie! I…don't want to lose you again."

Alex widened her eyes before giving me a determined frown, holding up her Pulse Rifle, and nodding. "You, too, Timmy," she replied, "And you can be sure of one thing: I'm here to stay." Smiling slightly, she followed Ellie out of the room, and I watched her leave before following Isaac into the hallway up ahead.

As we rested at the Save Station, Isaac suddenly turned to me and asked, "You like her, don't you?"

I was surprised. Was I that easy to read? "How long did you know?" I asked.

"Ever since she disappeared from the Church. Are you sure you know what you're doing? She's one of _them_. And she's close to the Marker."

I sighed as I remembered where her allegiance had been this whole time. "I don't know, Isaac," I replied, "She seems…different. She won't admit it, but I think she's letting go of Unitology slowly but surely. She just needs some time to come around."

"I hope you're right about her," Isaac said in a low voice as we continued on our way. _I'm pretty sure I'm right, _I told myself.

* * *

"Isaac! Timmy!" _Ellie cried from her and Alex's end as soon as we entered another hallway, "_There's a gunship docked here!_" _

_ "What?" I gasped, "Is it damaged?" _

_ "_Not that we can tell! Do you two hear me? We're going to make it out of here alive!_"_

"_Three of us are," I replied, "It's too dangerous for the rest of you to stay here." _

_ "Whoa, time out!" Timmy cried all of a sudden. _

_ "_What are you talking about?" _Ellie asked, "_Just get your asses in here! I'm starting a systems check now." _She hung up just as Timmy faced me again. _

_ "Isaac," he began, "What are you thinking about?" But I didn't want to talk to him in that moment. Instead, we made our way through the doors, where the gunship control was waiting for us. I glanced through the window and spotted Ellie and Alex waiting patiently for us. _

_ "Timmy," I began, facing the teen, "The door leading to the gunship is still open. You still have time to get out of here." _

_ "What?" Timmy gasped, "What are you talking about?" _

_ "You've been through enough because of me," I told him, "Both here and on the Ishimura. You'll be safer with Ellie." _

_ "Isaac, no," he replied, "You can't be serious right now! I'm not just going to leave you here!" _

_ I laughed without mirth as I shook my head. "I guess that hasn't changed," I said, "I'm telling you, leave for your own good." He didn't say a word. _

_ "Go! Now!" I ordered, "While you still have a chance!" _

_ Timmy swallowed, sighed, and nodded as he backed up towards the exit door. "God, I'm going to regret this," he muttered to himself, "Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?" _

_ "I'm sure. Now go!" _

_ He nodded again and took a deep breath. I could tell this was tough on him, but it was for his own good. For all their own goods. "Well, then," he started, "Take care of yourself, Isaac. You're the greatest friend someone could ever ask for. I just wanted you to know that." With that, he disappeared through the door, and as I took my helmet off, I watched as he climbed onto the gunship and relayed an unheard message to Ellie. As soon as she glanced up at me, I looked away. _

_ "Isaac," she quipped softly, "What are you doing?" _

_ Facing the control panel in front of me again, I pushed a few buttons. "_Closing hatch,_" a voice announced, and all three of them looked horrified. _

_ "Whoa, hey!" Ellie gasped, "Isaac, what are you doing?" _

_ "You're not coming with us?" Alex asked in shock. Ellie then sent me a video log. _

_ "_Isaac! What are you doing?_" she repeated, "_Open the door right now! No! NO! No, don't you dare! Don't you dare launch this ship!" _The ship began to fly away as Ellie became more frantic. _

_ "_ISAAC!" _she shouted as Timmy and Alex looked on in sadness. _

_ "It's your best chance, Ellie," I told her, "You've got life support, Comms…hey, you're going to be rescued. All of you." _

_ "_You bastard!" _she snapped, and I closed my eyes for a second. I felt bad for doing this to her, but it was necessary. It was for the best. Really. _

_ "I need you to be rescued," I continued, "I couldn't save Nicole, but I can save you, Ellie. So, uh…bye." She glanced down at her lap and refused to look at me. _

_ "_Isaac," _Timmy piped up from next to her as he appeared in the video, "_Don't do this!"

"_Goodbye, Timmy," I said to him next, "Thank you for being there when no one else was." _

_ "_Isaac!" _both he and Ellie shouted, but I cut them off by shutting down the video log. My stomach sank in guilt for sending them off like this, but it had to be done. With nothing else now, I decided to rest for a minute, and I slid down on the floor as I contemplated what to do next. _

_ "Are you ready to talk now?" _

_ I glanced over to see Nicole sitting on the other side of the now locked door, and she looked just as sad as I felt. _

_ "Why?" I asked dejectedly, "So I can let you go, too? I can't do that, Nicole. I never wanted to let you go." _

_ Nicole considered this for a minute. "A lot happened that we never wanted." She then slowly extended her arm that was closest to me. _

_ "Isaac," she whispered, "Touch me." She looked at me expectantly, but I knew I couldn't. _

_ "I don't think that's a good idea," I replied. _

_ "Isaac, please," she pleaded, "Make us whole." _

_ Sighing, I got up from my place on the floor and faced her. "I can't," I said as I slipped my helmet back on, and she disappeared in a flash. I was truly on my own now. Timmy and Ellie probably hated me now, but they would understand after a while. _

_ As I continued further into the Government Sector, I received an angry video log from Tiedemann. "_I don't know what Providence protects you, Clarke," _he fumed, "_But it ends here! I have two hundred armed security personnel. Every entrance is covered! Even if you do get in, you won't get far." _He disappeared after that. _

_ "Fuck you," I hissed under my breath as I organized myself at the Store and then continued on my merry way. Yeah, right. At least I was finally in the Government Sector. _

_ The hallways were quiet, almost like the hallways on the Ishimura_ _had been when I had first arrived there, and I advanced cautiously, holding my weapons out in front of me in the process. As I sprinted through the next few hallways, I took out the Necromorphs there and managed to hack my way into the next area. Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I raised my Pulse Rifle in front of me and crept forward. _

_ Bam! Blinding, white lights suddenly blinded me, and a few urgent voices followed that. "Isaac Clarke!" they snapped, "Stand down and drop your weapon!" _

Hell, no, _I thought, ducking into a side room as I heard them shout, "Open fire! Open fire!" _

_ "You're surrounded! Drop your tool and put your hands up!" _

_ "Where's that Stamford guy that was with him?" _

_ "Missing, but it doesn't matter. It's Clarke that Tiedemann wants now. We'll deal with Stamford later." _

_ More muffled voices greeted my ears, but I ignored them. I guessed it was a good thing I had sent Timmy away with Ellie after all. Even more of a reason to let them go. _

_ "Alert, Tiedemann!" another voice announced, "Isaac is still loose. Repeat, he's still loose!" _

_ I quickly glanced down at my navigator…only to find that it wasn't working. "Shit," I cursed to myself, "No waypoint. What the hell?" That was odd in itself. _

_ Down below, Tiedemann's men were still looking for me, and then I realized there was one thing I had to do. Sprinting upstairs, I used Kinesis to remove the cover of the battery that was used to feed the main power. Thinking to myself, I used Kinesis again to pull the actual battery out, and suddenly, the lights flickered and went off. _

_ "Shit!" the men down below cursed, "We've lost power! Somebody get that auxiliary power turned on!" _

_ Roar! "What the hell was that?" _

_ "Fuck! That was the bulkhead door! The power outage must have knocked out the kinetic restraints! We think they may have gained access to the compound!" _

_ "Oh, God, do you hear them? They're coming in! They're coming in!" _

_ "Open fire! Open fire!" To my horror, I watched as dozens and dozens of Necromorphs suddenly swarmed into the compound, quickly decimating Tiedemann's men as they did not have the proper tools to fight the Necromorphs. _

_ "_You compromised the compound, you idiot!_" Tiedemann snapped through another video log, "_If any of them reach the Marker…Fall back! Fall back to the Marker Chamber! We have to seal it off!"

_ I couldn't say anything for a minute as the Necromorphs continued to pour into the room, and once I recovered, I kept going. _

* * *

As the liquid hydrazine filled up the whole canister in the flamethrower, I found I was watching it in fascination. It was amazing how it was still able to burn in a vacuum. Had I known that earlier, I would have used the flamethrower much more often.

Oh, what was I saying? I was only studying the hydrazine to take my mind off what had happened with Isaac before. Ellie hadn't said a word since Isaac said his goodbyes, and I couldn't blame her for being this way. It _had _come as a shock. The last thing I expected was for him to make me leave with her and Alex. I was perfectly willing to stay behind and fight.

"Ellie?" Alex asked quietly. Ellie shook her head.

"I can't believe he did that," she whispered, "He really is stubborn. He should have joined us."

I sighed. I didn't know what to say about that, so I decided to glance out the window at the Government Sector…where a crazy sight greeted my eyes.

"Holy shit!" I gasped.

Both Alex and Ellie glanced up at me. "What's wrong?" Ellie asked as she and Alex got up to stand on either side of me.

"Look at that!" I cried, pointing at the hundreds, maybe thousands, of Necromorphs that were flooding into the station.

"What the hell?" Alex questioned.

"There must be some kind of opening," I deduced, "But how?"

"Isaac!" Ellie cried, "He must have something to do with this!"

That suddenly gave me an idea. "Do you know if this gunship has any escape pods, Ellie?" I asked the CEC employee.

"It does," she confirmed, "But why do you need one?"

"Because I'm going to go back and join Isaac. You two go ahead without me. I'll catch up with you later."

"_What?_" Alex and Ellie both gasped at the same time.

"Don't even think about it!" Ellie added a second later, "You're not going to abandon us like Isaac did!"

But I was already moving towards the escape pod in the corner. "Timmy, this is crazy," Alex tried to reason, "You're about to go into the same hole the Necromorphs are entering! You could be killed!"

"At least I'll die doing something good," I replied, "You two, take care of yourselves, and don't wait up. Good luck." And with that, I hit the eject button and began making my way back to the compound.

"Timmy!" Ellie shouted, but I continued to speed away in hopes of finding Isaac in one piece.


	14. Needles and Similar Sharp Objects

Only two more chapters to go after this! I'm uploading this today since I won't have a lot of time this week (exams are coming up). ;) Thanks again for the reviews! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **Only Timmy is mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. All other dialogue and plot points are mine.

_Italics- _Isaac's POV, Audio/Video Transmissions

* * *

Returning to the Government Sector proved to be horrifying.

As I attempted to guide my escape pod into the opening where the Necromorphs were entering, I tried my best to avoid them. Where they were all going was a mystery, but I hoped Isaac was all right. Ellie had said that he was probably somehow connected to this siege, and I would find out for sure.

"_Going back to help the engineer, are we?_" Mercer's voice asked as I waited for a few more Necromorphs to pass before continuing on my way. _Oh, great, _I thought, _He's back. Just like he said he'd be._

"Shut up," I snapped.

"_That's not nice._"

"I don't care," I replied, "I've got something I need to do that doesn't involve you."

"_Do you really think you can help him? He sent you away for a reason. You're not capable enough to help him. You know it and I know it._"

_Don't listen to him, Timmy, _I thought, _It's just your mind trying to make you doubt yourself. Don't doubt yourself._

"I _can _help him," I said under my breath.

"_Keep telling yourself that, Phase Two." _

I shook my head as I continued to move through the opening. I suddenly felt a bump, and when I glanced to my right, I spotted some Necromorphs sideswiping me, and I tried to steer away from them. However, more of them were becoming aware of my presence, and with high-pitched screeches, they began attempting to overwhelm my escape pod.

"Shit," I cursed to myself as I crash landed in the round circular room. Grabbing the recently upgraded flamethrower, I quickly climbed out of the escape pod just as some of the Necromorphs began tearing it to shreds. Just as I was making my escape, I felt a Slasher swipe at my leg, bringing me tumbling to the ground. I thought about the reinserted tissue in my arm and wondered if I was actually going to die and turn into a Necromorph. I had asked Isaac to kill me if I turned into one of them, but I really wasn't sure this time. What would happen to me if I did die? Would I get kicked out of the game? I couldn't think about it right now. I had to find Isaac first.

After fending off the Necromorphs around me, I began running through the facility in an attempt to find Isaac, but all I saw around me were the dismembered bodies of other Necromorphs and soldiers. _Isaac must have been here, _I thought, refueling the flamethrower and continuing on my way.

A few Necromorphs popped out at me every now and then, and I managed to take care of them while I ran through the empty hallways. Along the way, I suddenly received a video transmission from Tiedemann. _Weird, _I thought, _How'd he find out I was here again? _

"_Ahh, Stamford,_" he began, "_I see you've returned. You could have escaped, you know. And no one would have been the wiser._"

"Liar," I hissed in response, "Why are you calling me?"

"_My men should have killed you on the spot back at that party,_" Tiedemann growled, "_You've seen too much. Know too much about all this._" I didn't say anything in response.

"_You should be angry that Clarke got you involved in all this,_" the angry Director continued, "_He's dragged you into his dilemma and painted a target on the back of your head._"

"Yeah, well, I'm not," I snapped, "Too bad for you, eh, Tiedemann? Even better: you can take that Marker and shove it up your ass. It would save us all the hassle of destroying it."

By now, Tiedemann was fuming. "_You are the most stubborn, insolent bastard I've ever met,_" he replied in a low voice, "_And you'll pay for your backtalk_."

I smirked and shrugged. "I never said I was perfect," I replied, "Later, Tiedemann." Before he could reply, I hung up on him and scoffed to myself. I knew I was going to get it big time for that, but I would worry about that later. For now, Isaac was my top priority, and I wasn't going to let Mercer or Tiedemann stop me from doing what I needed to do.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a navigator like Isaac did, but that didn't stop me from continuing to follow the trail of blood, Necromorph limbs, and empty batteries and bullets, which I knew had to be Isaac. _God, please be okay, _I thought, _For Ellie's sake._

Poor Ellie. I felt bad for leaving her and Alex on that gunship as well, and just like Isaac had figured out that I liked Alex, I could tell for sure now that he felt something towards Ellie. Maybe not what he had with Nicole, but there was something there all the same.

"_That was uncalled for, Stamford,_" Tiedemann snarled as he contacted me through my Audio RIG this time, "_Don't you know it's unwise to hang up when I am speaking to you?_"

"Isaac Clarke did it," I reminded him, "And I don't hear you throwing a bitch fit over that."

"_He's another matter entirely and you know it! Now, I suggest you refrain from hanging up on me, or else…_"

"You don't scare me, Tiedemann," I replied.

"_I don't? Well, you should be afraid at this point. After I'm finished dealing with Clarke, you'll be next. This can't reach anybody else outside the station._"

"_Goodbye_, Tiedemann," I said in a firm voice as I hung up on him again. _Isaac, _I thought, _I've got to find Isaac._ I continued to follow the blood trails and empty ammo. More Necromorphs jumped out to attack me, and I quickly took care of them with the flamethrower as I continued to move deeper into the facility. There were places where I could make out Isaac's handy work, and I smiled to myself. He was doing all right.

Not ten minutes had passed before Tiedemann contacted me again. "_Stamford,_" he began, "_You're really starting to anger me now._"

"What is this, 'Stalk the Stamford Man Day'?" I asked in response, "What do you want now? I've hung up on you twice. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"_I will give you one more chance to turn around, leave, and forget what you saw. Before I am obligated to use lethal force._"

"Yeah, and then what? You'll send your men to kill me again? Just like at the party?"

Tiedemann chuckled. "_You think you're being brave right now, Stamford?_" he asked, "_By talking back to me? I told you your attitude was going to get you killed one day. I'd say you're getting pretty close to that day now. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Take your pick._"

"Decisions, decisions…" I mumbled to myself, "I'll take the hard way." And with that, I hung up on him yet again. I wasn't sure what would happen this time around.

In the distance, I could hear the familiar roar of a Brute, but I ignored it for the time being. I tried to contact Isaac through my RIG…only to find that Tiedemann had blocked all my signals. "Damn it," I cursed to myself, "He was serious about this." Oh, well. I would find a way to catch up with my friend.

However, fifteen minutes later, I found myself wandering down an unfamiliar hallway, and the Brute roars quieted down the further I went.

_Whoosh! _I heard a noise behind me, and I stopped and raised the flamethrower in front of me, just in case something tried to attack me. But I didn't expect what happened next.

Suddenly, I felt someone's hand cover my mouth and another wrap around my neck in a tight grip, and I began struggling to get out. Oh, God. Was this another hallucination? Was it Mercer again, like it had been during the tram incident?

"Let me go, you bastard!" I snapped, reaching for the flamethrower, but the voice that followed shocked me and made me realize this wasn't in my head this time.

"There you are, Stamford," Tiedemann whispered, "I think it's time Clarke realized the seriousness of what he has done…"

* * *

_To my relief, the Brute was finally down, and I was able to continue to move on through this sector. I could feel it now. I was getting closer to the Marker. _

_ After passing through the large, circular door up ahead, I stopped at the Bench and the Store before resting for a moment. I had to admit it was weird not having company, but it was the right thing to do. _

_ After finishing at the Bench, I continued onto the elevator in the corner and rode it down a few floors until the doors opened again. What I saw next surprised me: situated before me was a structure that seemed to be over one-hundred stories tall. It was gold and red, and a humming noise ensued from it. The Marker! Again! _

_ "Oh my God," I gasped, removing my helmet as I moved closer to it, "I built that?" I glanced up at the top of the Marker and then looked down to its base, where hundreds of Necromorphs were gathering. _

_ "What…what are they doing?" I asked myself. _

_ "They're all coming to the Marker," Nicole whispered to me, "Convergence is at hand." _

_ "Wow," I gasped to myself just as someone appeared on a video log in front of me. _

_ "_Clarke!" _Tiedemann snapped, "_I knew you were trouble from the start! But they told me you were necessary. That your mind was the purest. I spent years sifting through your demented brain! This is not the way it was supposed to happen!"

_ "Well, how was it supposed to happen, Tiedemann?" I snapped. _

_ "_We had it under control! Clarke, this is not our fault! We were so close to understanding it!_" _

_ Boom! With a deafening bang, an explosion suddenly emitted from the Marker, along with a blinding yellow light and a few pulses. Tiedemann and I lost our footing in our respective locations, and in that moment, I caught a glimpse of someone else in the video. _Wait a minute, _I thought, _Is that…no. It can't be.

_ "_What?" _Tiedemann cried, "_It's all those bodies! All those bodies you let in! It's triggering a Convergence Event! But we never expected this many bodies!" _And with that, he was gone before I could figure out who the other person was. Instead, I stared at the Marker again, where Necromorph bodies were now flying up into the air. _

_ "Why?" I asked, "What the hell is it doing?" _

_ "What it was made to do," Nicole answered as she rested her hand in mine, "Isaac, you have to make us whole." _

_ Aw, damn. Now everything was up to me! I didn't ask for any of this! I had to find a way to end this once and for all. _

_ Looking to my right, I noticed the door was unlocked, so I decided to see what was in there. In the middle of the room was a machine that looked very familiar to me now that I looked at it. _

_ "The Machine," I said to Nicole, "Just like Stross said. I remember. The machine activates the part of our brain where the Marker codes are stored. But how does that threaten the Marker? What were they afraid of?" _

_ "Me," Nicole responded, "Us. Working together." _

_ "Step four…" _

_ "Yes. Are you ready?" _

_ "This is going to hurt, isn't it?" _

_ "Yes. Step inside." She disappeared, leaving me no choice but to crawl inside. _

_ "Step one," Nicole announced, "Crawl inside." Once I was inside, something whirred behind my head. _

_ "Step Two: the screws go tight all around." I felt a few clamps stick to my head to hold me in place. _

_ "Cross my heart and hope to die." A few more clamps pried my eyes open, and I immediately began to feel my eyes get watery from not being able to blink. _

_ "Stick a needle in your eye." At that moment, a needle appeared over me, and I definitely remembered this now. Oh, God, this was going to hurt. _

_ It was torture to watch the needle slowly lower closer and closer to my eye, but I knew I had to stay still or else the needle would poke the wrong place. A few times, I felt my heart rate increase dramatically, but I somehow managed to calm myself down. I tried not to think about the pain I was about to put myself through, and it surprisingly worked, even as the needle pierced my eye and began to drill a little bit deeper until I was finally able to extract some information about the Marker. Once it was over, the needle retracted back to its original position, and I surprisingly only felt a minor discomfort. A little bit of blood leaked onto my cheek, but I wiped it away quickly as I crawled out of the machine again. _

_ "Nicole?" I asked, holding my arm up to block the sudden burst of light, "Where are you?" _

_ "Follow the light, Isaac," she told me, "I'll be waiting for you at the Marker!" _

_ "But what do I do?" I replied as she disappeared, "Damn it." I guessed I was on my own again. _

_ As I continued to remember the sessions from over the last three years, I suddenly heard a low growl, and something suddenly burst through the vent in the corner. "Holy shit!" I gasped as I took in the long legs and five to six eyes on its face. Wait a minute. Was this "him"? Was this what Stross referring to? _

_ "You're lucky you don't remember the sessions," he had said, "When you do, he comes back." _

_ "Crap!" I thought, using Stasis before dismembering this unfamiliar Necromorph. When it collapsed, I turned my attention to the control panel I had to hack, and as I was finished rewiring everything, I heard another growl, and when I glanced over at the floor, I realized this Necromorph was just like the Hunter. It slowly regenerated its limbs as it stood up and marched towards me again. _

_ "Shit!" I gasped as I used Stasis again and made a run for it. Another invincible Necromorph? What was up with that? _

_ I continued to run, reloading my new Contact Beam that I had gotten a while ago, as the Ubermorph was surely chasing me right now. Along the way, other Necromorphs besides the Ubermorph got in the way, which I was forced to take care of. As I reloaded the Contact Beam, I thought about Ellie, Timmy, and Alex. How were they doing? Hopefully, they had managed to get as far away from here as possible. _

_ "You're fighting it Isaac," Nicole whispered to me at one point, "You can't fight it. You have to let me go." _

_ "But I'll never see you again!" I shouted. _

_ "Isaac, stop it!" Nicole retorted, "There is no other way. You have to do this." _

_ These hallways were a little too quiet for my taste, so I picked up the pace even more. Fortunately, it seemed like I had lost the Ubermorph for now. _

_ "This is it, Isaac," Nicole whispered a little while later, "Convergence is almost here. Meet me at the Marker." _

_ Thank God. _

* * *

_**A little while later…**_

_Grrr! _

_ With another bang, the Ubermorph suddenly appeared again after a while, and I had to quickly avoid it in order to continue on. "Shit!" I cursed to myself, and I felt even more dread creep into my veins when I heard a video log pop up in front of me. _

_ "_Isaac_!" a very familiar voice cried, "_Isaac, are you there?_" _

_ No. It couldn't be! It wasn't! "Timmy?" I gasped as I opened my eyes to see Timmy with his helmet removed on the screen. He was staring frantically at me. _

_ "_Thank God I reached you!_" he cried, "_Listen, I'm back on the Titan._" _

_ "What?" I shouted, "What are you doing back here? I told you to leave with the others!" _

_ Timmy chuckled nervously. "_I'll explain later_," he assured me, "_But right now, I need your help. It's Tiedemann! He-_" _

_ "_Hang up, Stamford!" _Tiedemann's voice snapped, and Timmy glanced to a corner of the screen. _

_ "_Hey, back off, man!" _Timmy snarled, raising his flamethrower in front of him, "_Isaac, this guy is fucking crazy!_" _

_ "Timmy!" I shouted, "You shouldn't have come back!" _

_ "_Well, I did!"_ the teen quipped in response, _"Isaac, hurry! Tiedemann's losing his marbles!_" _

_ "_YAHHH!" _a voice shrieked, and Timmy glanced at me again. _

_ "_Aw, shit!" _he cursed, "_Gotta go!_" _

_ "Timmy!" I yelled, but he was gone. _Damn it, _I thought, _Now Tiedemann's attacking Timmy?

_ I ran even faster now to get out of the Ubermorph's reach, and after a while, I finally managed to seal the door on it. Sighing with relief, I slowed down a little bit and took my time with going through this hallway until I was outside once again. Up ahead was a bright light! The one Nicole had referred to! The Marker was just up ahead as well. _

_ Picking up the pace, I sprinted quickly again, but the site I stumbled upon shocked me. Standing up ahead by the Marker was Nicole, but in front of her were Timmy and Tiedemann, who were engaged in battle. Tiedemann looked awful; he must have sustained injuries from the Marker's explosion before, as the whole side of his face, muscle tissue and everything, was exposed. Just as I got closer to the two of them, I watched as Tiedemann got a few punches and kicks in, and Timmy retaliated by turning the flamethrower up to full power and scorching Tiedemann's already damaged face. "AHH!" the director screamed, stumbling back a little bit and holding a hand up to his face. Timmy was just backing up and refueling his flamethrower when I decided to get his attention. _

_ "Timmy!" I cried, and Timmy glanced up at me. _

_ "Isaac!" he shouted, running towards me, but before he could get the rest of his sentence out, I watched in horror as Tiedemann growled, raised his Javelin Gun, and pulled the trigger._


	15. The Conflicts Within the Self

All right! I was in a good mood today, and I thought I'd upload this before things got really hectic between exams and homework. :) I've been anxious to upload it since finishing the previous chapter. Thanks again for all the reviews and support, even with cliffhangers! ;) Sorry, but I couldn't resist with the previous chapter. With that in mind, here's the next chapter! Only one more to go after this! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else, as well as dialogue from the game, belongs to Visceral Games and EA. All other dialogue, plot points, and minor alterations to gameplay events are mine.

_Italics- _Isaac's POV and Audio/Video Transmissions

**Bold- **? (It's not Stross this time. Just like before, you'll figure out who this is when you read it. :D)

* * *

"_AHH!_" _Timmy gasped as the Javelin Spear Tiedemann had shot pierced his torso right below his chest. Blood started to pour profusely from the wound as he closed his eyes in agony. His face immediately turned pale from the shock. _

_ "Timmy!" I cried, running over to him as he moaned and collapsed to the ground. Before I could properly reach him, though, I saw another Javelin Spear sail towards me out of the corner of my eye, and intense pain followed just above my arm. _

_ "The research in that Marker is worth every life we just lost!" Tiedemann shouted, bearing his teeth and glaring at me as I closed my eyes and pulled the Javelin Spear out of my shoulder. I hated him. I hated everything about him, and this was just the icing on the fucking cake! If he messed with me, that was one thing. But once he started going after my friends, that was it. I was going to kill him if it was the last thing I did! _

_ After pulling the first spear out, I continued to stagger towards Tiedemann as I raised my left hand, and in the blink of an eye, Tiedemann raised the Javelin Gun again and shot another bolt into my hand. _

_ "AHH!" I gasped as well, stumbling backwards next to Timmy, who was gasping and repeatedly closing and opening his eyes as he clutched the Javelin Spear lodged in his torso. I would try and remove his once I completely recovered from my injuries. Closing my eyes, I gripped the bolt in my hand and ripped it out as I began to bleed. _

_ "I won't let you throw all this away!" Tiedemann vowed, and just as I was getting situated, I watched as he raised the Javelin Gun for a fourth time and pointed it at me. _

_ Timmy's cries of pain worsened every second, and I glanced down at him for a minute before deciding to fight back against Tiedemann. Just as he was about to finish me off, I somehow managed to gain the upper hand. With a growl of my own, I grabbed his arm and broke it, therefore relieving him of the Javelin Gun. Pointing the weapon at his face, I pulled the trigger and watched as another bolt shot out of the gun and through Tiedemann's neck. _

_ "Oh!" he cried, letting go of me and collapsing to the ground next to Timmy. In front of me, Nicole waited patiently with her hand extended, and since I was still injured from Tiedemann's attacks, I limped towards her, but not before pointing the Javelin Gun at the director's head again, pulling the trigger, and decapitating him. As his body fell to the ground, I cast the Javelin Gun aside and decided to check on Timmy, who wasn't doing too good from my stance. _

_ "God damn, this hurts like a bitch!" he gasped as he tried to pull the spear out again. _

_ "God, Timmy," I replied as I knelt next to him, "Are you okay?" _

_ "Ow," he mumbled, "I've taken a lot of beatings, but this has to be the worst. Isaac…I don't think I'm going to make it this time." _

_ "What did I tell you back on the Ishimura? You're not going to die. Hold still so I can remove the bolt. It might hurt, though, so be prepared." He took some deep breaths to steel himself as I slowly removed the spear. Once the torturous task was over, I cast the spear aside as he coughed up blood. _

_ "Are you okay, Isaac?" he asked weakly. _

_ I winced as I thought about my own injuries from Tiedemann's Javelin Gun. "I'm fine," I assured him, "And ready to destroy the Marker." _

_ "Sounds like a plan," Timmy croaked, smiling weakly, "B-but how will you do it?" _

_ I glanced up at Nicole, who was still waiting patiently. "I'll figure something out," I replied as I continued to stare at her, "And then, we'll see what happens from there." He didn't respond. _

_ "Timmy?" I asked, "Timmy?" He still didn't answer, and I glanced down to see that he was lying still on the ground, his eyes closed and his body not moving. _

_ "Timmy!" I cried, shaking his shoulder, but he still didn't budge, and I decided to check his RIG to make sure it wasn't something worse. The bars were flashing red, but that was dwindling with time. _

_ "Shit," I cursed to myself, and I decided I had to destroy the Marker right then and there. I got up and approached Nicole, and once I was close enough, I felt her gently wrap her arms around me in an embrace. We both just stood silently for a minute, and after a while, I glanced at Timmy again, who still hadn't come around. _

_ "Thank you, Isaac," Nicole whispered softly, "Now…time to die." _

_ I pulled away in horror. "What?" I gasped, and with that, Nicole threw her hands into the air as another explosion took place behind her. Everything around me turned a weird, greenish color as the ground shook, which only increased in intensity. Glancing around for a minute in shock, I noticed that Tiedemann's body was gone, but Timmy was still lying unconscious where he was, though a pool of blood was forming underneath him, leaking through the tourniquet I had wrapped around the wound. _God, _I thought, _Hang in there, Timmy. Just until I can stop the Convergence.

_ The orange light that had been emitting from Nicole grew brighter around me until I found myself in a completely different setting. Strong gusts of wind blew around me, and everything was still green. Where was this? _

_ "Yours is the last body we need to be reborn!" Nicole's voice echoed all around me, "The makers must be absorbed!" _

_ "Makers?" I hollered back, "You mean me? But Stross said we could destroy the Marker!" _

_ "Not if we consume you first!" In the distance, Nicole suddenly materialized in front of me in a haze and began walking towards me. _

_ "God damn it!" I thundered, "I trusted you! Fuck you! And fuck your Marker!" _

_ This was going to be tough to do, but I had to do it. Raising my Plasma Cutter, I began to shoot at the image of Nicole, and I watched as she screamed and stumbled backwards. Behind her, something flashed, and for a brief second, I saw the Marker. That was it! I continued to shoot Nicole as she spoke up again. _

_ "You will all be made one!" she yelled, "Make us whole!" _

_ "NO!" I shouted in response, shooting her again until she and the Marker both disappeared. Symbols flew all around me as a pulsing, yellow pod appeared in front of me. That was when I realized: this was the part of my brain where the Marker data was stored. And to destroy the Marker, I had to destroy these parts. And that was what I was going to do. _

_ Raising the Plasma Cutter again, I began to shoot at the yellow pod while I still could. I had to get rid of the Marker's influence over me. It was the only way. _

_ Suddenly, something swiped at me. "AHH!" I cried, looking up to see the Pack leaping over the different platforms to try and reach me. Their screams were ear-splitting, and I was forced to move on to them with the Pulse Rifle. _

_ "Give up, Isaac!" Nicole snarled, but I wouldn't give up. I had come too far already! _

_ The Pack became more and more insistent, and so did Nicole the more she tried to approach me with outstretched arms. I couldn't let her get near me. She was no longer going to have an influence over me. _

_ As the Necromorphs continued to attempt to overwhelm me, Nicole spoke up again. "Do you really think I'm going to go away that easily?" she asked, "You can't eliminate me, Isaac. You haven't been able to for a while now." _

_ "Shut up!" I snapped, finishing off this wave of the Pack before shooting Nicole again, revealing the yellow pod for a second time. This time, I would get it. Sprinting forward, I took out the Contact Beam this time as I shot at it, effectively destroying part of that synapse and watching as symbols flew into the air again. _

_ "YAAHHH!" Nicole shrieked, rushing towards me again, but I hopped out of the way in time to avoid her and more of the Pack. _

_ As I shot at her with the Plasma Cutter again, she chuckled and shook her head as she avoided my attacks. "Your little friend is dying," she reminded me, referring to Timmy, "And there's nothing you can do about it. It's a shame that you're losing everyone around you, Isaac." _

_ "I'm not listening to you!" I cried in response, using Stasis on her and another wave of the Pack, "I'm through listening to your bullshit!" At the same time, though, I had to admit she was right; Timmy was dying. Or was he already dead at this point? I didn't want to think about it. _

_ "You say that now," Nicole hissed, "But once he's gone…" _

_ "Shut up!" I roared, shooting her again and hitting the mark this time. I wouldn't let her do this to me. Timmy was tough. He would pull through. He had to! _

_ "All you have to do is let the Marker absorb you, Isaac!" Nicole yelled, "And this will all be over!" I continued to shoot at her as she spoke. _

_ "No more pain," she whispered, "No more fear. Isn't that what you want, Isaac?" _

_ I stopped for a minute to consider her words. No, I didn't want either pain or fear anymore, but this wasn't the way to go. All I could think about were my friends, especially Ellie. Oh, God, Ellie. Maybe I wouldn't live after this, but at least she would be safe. _

_ "And leave behind those I care about?" I shouted over the wind, "I can't do that!" _

_ "Isaac, Isaac, Isaac," Nicole replied, clucking her tongue as more of the Pack swarmed around me, "You were always so noble. If you were really as noble as you claim to be, you'd do this for me, at least. To make up for what you didn't do on the Ishimura." _

_ There she went again, trying to guilt trip me. "No," I replied, shooting her again and causing the Marker behind her to open up again. _

_ After fending off the Pack, I rushed forward again and shot at the synapses for a second time in an attempt to destroy the data in my mind. "NO!" Nicole echoed angrily, and the Marker closed up yet again. _

_ "Go ahead, Isaac!" she snapped virulently, "Destroy me! But you'll still have Timmy's blood on your hands! Did you think about that?" _

_ I didn't think about that, to be honest. I had just assumed he would live. But what if he was dead by the time I was finished with this? I would worry about it afterwards. All I hoped for was that he would be able to hold on till I destroyed the Marker's influence. _

_ Ellie and Timmy. They were counting on me. And I couldn't let them down. Even Alex, who I hadn't trusted this whole time, seemed like she was genuinely trying to help with the cause. She seemed to be rejecting her religion because of me. Even if I died right here and now, at least I would be doing it for them. _

_ "Fuck you!" I shouted again as I shot Nicole, reopened the Marker, and shot at the synapses again, destroying them for good. _

_ "NOOO!" Nicole snapped, but I ignored her as I watched the yellow ball of light in front of me illuminate until I had to cover my eyes. Symbols circled around my head, but they all disappeared with time. Everything shook again, but just as the shaking got worse, it ended in the blink of an eye. _

* * *

_ When I opened my eyes, I noticed I was back at the Marker's base, and the Convergence event seemed to have ended. I took a deep breath as I clutched my head and found that I no longer had the headaches that usually came with the sickness. Did that mean it was gone for good? Or had I finally mastered my own sanity? _

_ With a loud rumble, I glanced around and watched as parts of the Government Sector began to collapse, and I sighed wistfully. This was it; this was the end. I may have been able to stop the Convergence, but I was going to die now. And oddly enough, I wasn't afraid. Maybe this was how it was supposed to end. Maybe death wasn't as scary as everyone made it out to be. _

_ Sighing again, I glanced over at Timmy, who was still unconscious, and I slowly approached him just as more debris began crashing down around us not unlike Aegis 7. _

_ "_Warning,_" a female voice announced, "_Reactor containment destabilized. A reactor breach is imminent. Evacuation of all personnel is required. This is not a drill._" _

_ There was no escape for me. Or for Timmy. We were doomed to die here. With that in mind, I carefully sat down next to Timmy and glanced down at my lap as I awaited the moment where I would die. The same message repeated from before as more debris collapsed around the Marker. _

_ "Ugh," a weak voice next to me groaned, and glancing up from my lap, I watched as Timmy tossed and turned before opening his eyes, which were glazed over. He struggled to sit up, though it looked like it was torture for him. I was surprised. He was still alive? Or just barely? _

_ "Don't move," I ordered in a quiet voice, "You'll only put yourself through more pain. Just lie down." _

_ "Ugh," Timmy repeated, "What's happening, Isaac?" _

_ "I stopped Convergence," I explained to him as I felt my face crumple in sadness again, "But this is it for us." _

_ "You mean we're going to die?" the teen whispered, clutching his injury. _

_ I nodded, refusing to look at him. "You shouldn't have come back," I said to him, "You had a chance to escape. Why'd you throw it away?" _

_ Timmy chuckled weakly just as a piece of the ceiling fell right next to him. "Like I said," he choked, "You're the greatest friend I could have ever asked for. Really, you are. I know we had our fights both here and on the Ishimura, but you still stuck by me when no one else would have." He took a deep breath, and I realized he wasn't finished. _

_ "The first time we arrived here three years ago," he continued in a quiet voice, "I failed to be there when I should have been. I didn't want that to happen again." _

_ "Timmy," I started, but he cut me off. _

_ "I know I mentioned this at the Church," he said, "But you really have no idea how bad I felt about what happened, especially after I heard what they had done to you. I guess that's why I was repeatedly asking you if you were okay." _

_ I shook my head. Of course! "Timmy Stamford," I began, "You really are stubborn." _

_ He laughed quietly. "I guess I am," he admitted, "We've been through a lot, haven't we?" _

_ "Hell and back," I replied, "But it ends here." I didn't want to die, but there was no escape from this. _

_ "Well, whatever happens from here," Timmy whispered just as a few explosions began to take place, "I'm glad I was here for this adventure. Thank you for everything, Isaac." _

_ I finally glanced over at him as he struggled to sit up again, this time succeeding. "Thank you, Timmy," I thanked him, "For everything." He smiled weakly, and after that, we fell silent as we awaited our deaths. _

_ "_Warning: Life support failure. Seek protection immediately._" _

* * *

**From here, the Government Sector looked like hell. The ceiling was collapsing on itself, and a few explosions were taking place. Next to me, Alex was watching the Marker's slow destruction with wide eyes. **

** "By Altman," she gasped, "So that was the Marker responsible for all this." **

** I sighed as I listened to her words. "Let it go, Alex," I said to her, "That artifact has caused a lot of pain for a lot of people." **

** Alex blew some air out of her mouth as she readjusted her high ponytail. "You're right," she agreed. She faced me, and I studied the gash underneath her eye. **

** "Stross did that," I deduced, though it pained me to say his name, "Didn't he?" **

** Alex nodded and closed her eyes for a minute. "Yeah, he did," she confirmed, "He was trying to perform Step 3 on me first before Timmy and Isaac." I closed my eye as I remembered how Stross had attacked me with the same screwdriver. **

** "Well, at least he didn't get any of you like he got me," I told her, "You're lucky." **

** "Ellie," Alex replied, but I didn't reply until she continued speaking. **

** "I didn't tell the others this," she said, "But I think I know why else Stross hated me." **

** "Why?" I asked, facing her, "All I gathered was that you drugged him and Isaac somehow." **

** "I did," she told me, "But to be honest, I wasn't as nice to him as I could have been. I was only spying for the Unitologists, but I didn't like having to help out with those sessions. It was awful watching both Stross and Isaac go through that, but I knew I had to continue being a spy. I guess I went too far at times, though, especially with Stross. I was sort of a bully to him at times when he was getting out of hand, especially when I found out he had murdered his family. That always bothered me, since I had lost my own family, and I kind of took it out on him." She looked away after she said this. **

** "Alex," I huffed, but she cut me off. **

** "I know you probably think less of me for it," she said hurriedly, "But can we keep it between us? I don't want anyone else knowing how awful I was during my spying days. It's a part of me that I'd rather not remember myself." **

** I shook my head at first. "Wow, Alex," I replied, "I didn't think it was that serious." **

** "It was, and I guess Stross going after me first was his way of getting back at me. Isaac already thinks I'm evil, and if he knew that…" She trailed off there and sighed. As soon as she mentioned Isaac, I thought about the stubborn CEC engineer and his sidekick, Timmy, again. Why had they just left us while they went off to their deaths? **

** "At least you're owning up to what you did," I told her. **

** "I guess I am," she replied, "But I'm not proud of it, that's for sure." **

** "I won't tell anyone else," I promised her, "But you should if you get the chance." She nodded solemnly. **

** Another explosion reached our ears, and it seemed like the Titan Station was in worse shape than ever before. That was when I decided what I had to do. **

** Taking control of the gunship again, I began to pilot our way back to the station. "Ellie?" Alex asked as she took her seat, "What are you doing?" **

** "You want to see Timmy again, right?" I asked, "You like him, don't you?" **

** Alex widened her eyes. "How did you know?" she asked. **

** I smirked to myself. "I've seen how you two look at each other," I told her, "Just because I only have one eye now doesn't mean I don't see these things." She didn't say anything, which amused me to no end. **

** "Besides," I continued, "There's no way in hell Isaac thinks he's going to let himself die after all this." **

** "But he said-" **

** "I know what he said, Alex! But he's not the only one who can be stubborn. Just hold on tight! We're going in!" Before Alex could protest, I was already flooring it and heading back to the Government Sector, avoiding other explosions in the process. She seemed reluctant to go back at first, but as soon as I had mentioned Timmy, she appeared to warm up to the idea. **

** Along the way, I sent a video log to Isaac and Timmy, who were staring dejectedly at their laps. "You complete bastards!" I snapped, "Was this your great plan? Dump us off and die?" **

** Isaac and Timmy seemed surprised to see us, and Isaac looked up at me. "**_**I'm full of bad ideas, remember?**_**" he asked wistfully as Alex shook her head. **

** "Yeah?" I replied, "Well, here's another one: we're crashing through the roof to get you two! Now, move your asses!" **

** "**_**What?**_**" Timmy gasped, "**_**Right now?**_**" **

** "Right now!" Alex piped up from next to me, "Incoming!" **

** "**_**Wait, no!**_**" Isaac protested, standing up, "**_**Ellie! Alex! It's too late! Steer clear of the station!**_**" **

** "Yeah, well you don't really have a say this time!" I told him, "Heads up!" **

_**Boom!**_** With a lot of effort, Alex and I managed to crash through the roof just as more of the station imploded on itself. **

** "**_**Warning: Hull Breach. Decompression,**_**" a voice announced, but we didn't care. Down below, Isaac was hurriedly dodging us and dragging Timmy out of the way as well. Both of them looked in bad shape. All the more reason to get them out of there. **

** "**_**Warning: Gravity failure.**_**" **

** After saying something to Timmy that we couldn't hear, Isaac kicked up from the ground, followed by the teen next to him, and the two of them held hands as they sped towards us. **

** "Alex!" I cried, "Open the hatch! Now!" **

** "Right away!" Alex replied, pushing a button on the side and opening the hatch as Isaac and Timmy flew into view. I moved to greet the two of them as they flew closer and closer to the entrance of the gun ship. Debris continued to crash down all around them, and I thought about how scared we all were right now. **

** "Isaac!" I shouted, extending my hand, "Take my hand!" **

** "I'm trying! I'm trying!" Isaac replied, stretching out until he managed to grab my hand. Next to me, Alex moved forward to help Timmy inside as we all landed in the gunship. **

** "Shut the hatch!" I ordered, "Shut the hatch!" **

** After initially fumbling, Isaac pressed the button on the side of the door, and just as the hatch slowly shut, we all watched as the Marker exploded in a large ball of fire. **

** "Holy crap!" Isaac gasped right as the ship closed up. The force from the explosion rocked the gunship just as we shot out into space again. We did it! We were finally free! **


	16. Surprise Twist of Fate

All right! Here's the final chapter of "Dead Space: Forgotten Memories"! I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited, and overall supported this story! Really, I can't thank you guys enough! It's been a lot of fun uploading this story, and it was worth it! With that in mind, enjoy this final chapter! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Only my OCs are mine. Everyone else belongs to Visceral Games and EA. This chapter is mostly speculation as well.

_Italics- _Dream Sequence

**_Bold and Italics- _**Third Person POV

* * *

_Happiness. I hadn't felt this happy in a long time, and to be honest, it was kind of weird. As I closed my eyes and slept, I felt a big grin form on my face. Oh, God. I must have looked high to the others, but to me, I was perfectly fine. _

_ I soon found myself wandering through an unfamiliar hallway, and a voice called out to me. "Phase Two," Challus Mercer began as he appeared out of nowhere and approached me. _

_ "Dr. Mercer," I replied in a cheerful voice. Now that was strange. Here was someone who had made it onto my list of people that I hated, and now, I was greeting him like nothing was wrong? _

_ Mercer shook his head vigorously. "You've really outdone yourself this time," he commented, "You never cease to amaze me." _

_ I grinned to myself. "That I have," I replied, nodding and pushing past him to keep walking. _

_ "That tissue is still in your arm!" Mercer cried after me. _

_ "I know," I said, "I'll deal with it over time." _

_ "You're not going to be this happy for much longer." _

_ "I know that, too." Nodding again, I attempted to keep walking. _

_ "Timmy!" Mercer snapped in a short tone, and at that, I turned around and raised one of my eyebrows skeptically. _

_ "I'm not finished." _

_ "Yeah, well, I am," I replied insistently, "And I mean it this time. This whole experience made me realize something: I can't be paranoid for the rest of my life. I've got to move on, and this is my chance. Besides, it's like Isaac said about Tiedemann: you're not worth all the anger." I turned to walk away again. _

_ "I can assure you that you'll feel differently once you wake up." _

_ I glanced over my shoulder at him and smirked. "Try me," I replied, "Bye, Mercer. It was nice knowing you." And before he could answer, I slammed a white door in his face and turned to run, never looking back on those awful memories of the labs on the Medical Deck. _

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I glanced around for a minute as the gunship Isaac, Ellie, Alex, and I were sailing away in. Alex was sitting across from me and sleeping while Isaac and Ellie occupied the front seats. Everyone was silent as we cruised through space, and when I struggled to stand up, I noticed that Isaac was staring out the window vacantly, and I wondered what was on his mind. I wanted to ask him, but I instead decided to watch him, remembering what had happened last time we had drifted off into space after escaping from Aegis 7. He had been depressed over Nicole and had experienced a rather scary hallucination of her. I briefly wondered if that would happen again.

Suddenly, Isaac tensed up in the seat, and I stopped where I was and watched as he cautiously turned to the seat next to him, where Ellie was piloting the gunship. As soon as she caught him staring at her, she turned, faced him, and smiled slightly.

"What?" she asked, shrugging.

Upon hearing this question, Isaac widened his eyes, blinked, and shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, "Nothing." I smiled to myself at the realization that he was okay. He wasn't seeing a Necromorph version of Nicole this time.

"Ellie," Isaac added a minute later.

"Yeah?" Ellie asked.

"Thanks for saving us back there."

At this, Ellie smirked and playfully punched the engineer on the shoulder. "Did you really think I was going to just leave you back there?" she retorted, "Not on my watch!"

Isaac chuckled to himself and smiled weakly. "I don't know," he said, "It was looking bad back there."

"Well, you're here now," Ellie responded, "That's all that matters."

I tiptoed forward again, feeling a slight throbbing in my torso, but still feeling extremely happy at the same time. As soon as I was close enough, both Isaac and Ellie turned around.

"Hey, guys," I greeted.

"Hey, Timmy," Ellie quipped, "How are you feeling?"

I glanced down at my injury and sighed. "This still hurts like a bitch," I reported, "But not as much as before. I feel really happy, though."

Isaac and Ellie glanced at each other. "It must be the endorphins kicking in," Isaac replied, "To ease the pain until we can get some help." At that, he raised a hand to his shoulder, the one that Tiedemann had shot with the same Javelin Gun he had gotten me with.

"How are you feeling, Isaac?" Ellie asked.

Isaac winced. "I'm fine," he assured us, "You should get some rest, Timmy, until we can find help."

"But where will we go?" Ellie asked, "There's nothing out here."

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Isaac said to us, "But for now, we need to rest." I nodded.

"Let us know if you see anything," I told them as I moved to sit next to Alex, who was stirring in her sleep and opening her eyes. As soon as she saw me, she grinned sleepily, reached her hand out, and helped me sit down next to her.

"How's your stomach?" she asked quietly.

"Still bleeding," I told her, "But I think I'll be okay. I hope."

"No," Alex disagreed, "You're going to be okay. We're going to be optimistic. We already have enough to celebrate. We all survived the _Sprawl._"

"That we did," I agreed, "Too bad for everyone who had to die, though. It could have all been avoided." Alex sighed and closed her eyes for a minute.

"Timmy," she whispered, "You asked me a while ago why I came back to help all of you."

"Yeah," I said, "You told me you didn't agree with Unitology anymore."

"That was only half of it. I didn't tell you the other half."

I raised my eyebrows at this. "Really?" I asked, "What's the other half?"

What happened next surprised me. Alex suddenly scooted closer to me, leaned in, and kissed me on the lips. _Whoa! _I thought to myself as she pulled away, bit her lower lip, and began to blush.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked as she became more embarrassed.

I felt another wide grin spread across my face, and not from the pain relief this time. "Yeah, it does," I replied.

"Those three months we spent together," she continued, "You also helped me come out of my Unitologist shell a little bit, so I thought I'd thank you."

I felt my cheeks become flushed as well. I had just been kissed by a girl! And one I liked, too! "You're welcome," I replied, kissing her this time as we sat next to each other. _Now, all we need is to find some help, _I thought, _And we'll be good. _

* * *

_**A while later…**_

With a jolt, I felt myself wake up again after falling asleep in Alex's arms. Up ahead, Isaac and Ellie had switched seats, with Isaac taking over the wheel this time. I was surprised he still had the energy for it, but then again, this was Isaac we were talking about. He and Ellie were talking quietly about our plans for the future, but we realized we couldn't think of anything. We had nowhere to go. We were drifting in space. _Again._

_Aren't I supposed to be returning to my world now? _I thought, _I beat the game and managed to make it out alive._

At that moment, something suddenly hit me like another Javelin Spear. _Wait a minute, _I thought, scrambling to my feet quietly so that I wouldn't wake Alex.

"Isaac? Ellie?" I asked, "Have either of you found anything about a possible place to get help?"

"Not yet," Ellie reported, "But we'll let you know when we do."

_Shit! _I cursed to myself. "Thanks, Ellie," I thanked her before returning to my place next to Alex.

_With nowhere to go, _I continued to think to myself, _That must mean…damn it! I'm stuck in the game this time! _

But what about my home? My family? My friends? Was time passing by the longer I remained in this universe? Were they worried sick about me? The last time I had spoken to my mom, she had been angry with me for skipping my doctor's appointment. Now, I couldn't even get back to resolve that issue. I supposed I would have to wait until we landed somewhere. But when would that be?

For now, I returned to my place next to Alex and closed my eyes again, knowing that this time, I wouldn't be going back for a while.

* * *

**This is it, **_**Commander Frank Johnson thought to himself as he piloted his crew's shuttle over to the Titan Station. They had all heard about the incident that had taken place there, and they had been sent out to investigate. **_

_** "So, how about we all go out for drinks once this is over?" one of the other crewmembers asked as he grinned to himself. **_

_** "Maybe," Johnson replied, "But the boss said we had to take care of this first." **_

_** "Work first, play later, eh, Johnson?" the same man, who had identified himself as Captain Bennett, chuckled, patting himself on the back, "You always stuck to that philosophy." **_

_** "For this job, yes," Johnson quipped in response. **_

_** Bennett laughed again, but his goofy grin disappeared when he glanced out the window. "Holy shit!" he gasped, "Would you get a load of that?" **_

_** All the crewmembers gathered around him and Johnson, and they all watched as the Titan Station imploded, with the infamous Marker being consumed in the flames and collapsing debris. "Looks like it's over," Bennett whispered, "What the hell happened here?" **_

_** "I don't know," Johnson answered, "But the boss needs to know about this." Grabbing his RIG, he contacted his boss. **_

_** "This is flight team EG-9 to Control," he announced, "We have completed the fly-by. There's nothing left. I repeat, Titan Station has been completely destroyed." **_

_** "And the Marker?" the deep, gravelly voice on the other end asked. **_

_** "Negative," Johnson confirmed, "Nothing survived this, sir. Marker Site 12 is a total loss." **_

_** The man on the other end didn't say anything at first, but when he did, all he said was, "Pity. Recall all flights and return to base. The other sites will have to pick up the pieces." **_

_** "Right away, sir," Johnson quipped, hanging up and turning the shuttle around. **_

_** "But how could the Marker have been destroyed?" Bennett asked in shock. **_

_** "Beats me," Johnson muttered under his breath, "But whatever, or whoever, caused this to happen is going to pay. The Boss will make sure of that. Now, hold on tight. We're going back to the base." **_

_** "Yes, sir." Bennett took his seat with the other crewmembers as they turned around and flew back the way they came. A horrifying thought crossed their minds: if Marker Site 12 was destroyed, would the other eleven meet the same fate? **_

_** No. No, they couldn't let that happen. Not if they could help it. They would protect the other sites, no matter how far they had to go to do so. **_

_** But like anything else, that was another fight for another day. For now, they drifted back out into space as the Marker behind them disappeared into oblivion. **_


End file.
